ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Carbon Emissions

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department's estate  (a) in total and  (b) per full-time equivalent member of staff in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm the actual carbon emissions for the DEFRA office estate and carbon emissions per full-time equivalent member of DEFRA staff, for years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are presented in the following table.
	
		
			   CO 2  emissions from DEFRA offices (kgCO 2 )  Staff in post  CO 2  emissions per FTE 
			 2006-07 16,150,226 9232 1749 
			 2007-08 15,530,269 8171 1901

Departmental Water Consumption

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of water consumption on his Department's estate  (a) in total and  (b) per full-time equivalent member of staff in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 2006-07.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual water consumption on the DEFRA office estate and water consumption per full-time equivalent member of DEFRA staff for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are presented in the following table:
	
		
			   Office water consumption (m3)  Office water consumption per FTE (m3) 
			 2005-06 87,518 6.74 
			 2006-07 77,160 6.53

Departmental Energy

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the energy use per full-time equivalent member of staff in his Department in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Energy Efficiency data for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are presented in the following table. The increase in energy consumption per full-time equivalent member of staff is a result of improvements to DEFRA's space utilisation and a reduction in staff numbers. DEFRA staff now occupy a smaller footprint on the office estate which has resulted in an increase in energy useCO2 emissions per FTE.
	
		
			   Energy consumed by DEFRA estate (kWh)  Energy consumed per DEFRA FTE (kWh/FTE) 
			 2006-07 154,005,682 13,036 
			 2007-08 143,645,869 13,501 
		
	
	DEFRA has a programme in place to deliver operational carbon dioxide savings across its estate, with initiatives specifically targeted at improving energy efficiency:
	DEFRA has installed 33 voltage regulation units on its estate. This technology significantly reduces energy consumption of a whole building by regulating the voltage level entering the building. Average electricity consumption has reduced by 12 per cent. per site as a result of installing this technology.
	Other energy efficiency projects which have been implemented include upgrades to more efficient lighting, improvements to motor energy controls and gas boiler sequencing controls, all of which have delivered significant savings.
	Thermal imaging surveys have been undertaken at a number of DEFRA properties. The results of the surveys will inform a programme of works to improve the thermal efficiency of buildings.
	DEFRA is currently upgrading its electricity, gas and water meters to 'Smart meters' which will provide accurate and up to the minute consumption data. These data will be used to monitor and identify excessive consumption, providing a focus for strategic consumption reduction. The Carbon Trust estimate that savings of between 5 and 10 per cent. can be achieved through the identification of waste through Smart metering.
	To further improve operational efficiency, DEFRA has recently revised its requirements for facilities management (FM) provision to incorporate a more sustainable approach to the FM service. The recent Sustainable Workplace Management contract awarded to Interserve, will further enhance DEFRA's capability to further embed sustainability in its operations.
	DEFRA has adopted the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme and the entire DEFRA estate, including laboratories, was awarded Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme (EEAS) certification in June 2007.

Departmental Recycling

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the  (a) volume and  (b) percentage of waste from his Department which was recycled in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual volume and percentage of waste recycled or recovered by DEFRA, during years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are presented in the table.
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 Waste recycled(1) (tonnes) 1,393 1,411 
			 Percentage recycled 27 29 
			 Waste recovered(2 )(tonnes) 2,891 2,877 
			 Percentage recovered 55 60 
			 (1 )Recycled—waste that is recycled, reused externally or composted. (2) Recovered—waste that is recycled, reused externally, composted or incinerated with energy recovery. 
		
	
	It should be noted that DEFRA incinerates approximately 30 per cent. of its waste, from which significant quantity of heat and energy is recovered. Current Sustainable Development Commission reporting does not acknowledge energy recovery from waste incineration as recycling or waste recovery under current Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) guidelines.

Departmental Renewable Energy

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the percentage of electricity derived from renewable sources used in his Department in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual percentage of electricity derived from renewable sources, by DEFRA, during years 2006-07 and 2007-08 is presented in the following table.
	
		
			   Percentage of electricity derived from renewable resources 
			 2006-07 44 
			 2007-08 56

Departmental Waste

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of waste from his Department  (a) in total and  (b) per full-time equivalent member of staff in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual waste arisings for DEFRA and waste arisings per full-time equivalent member of DEFRA staff, for years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are presented in the following table.
	
		
			   Total waste (tonnes)  Waste per FTE (tonnes) 
			 2006-07 5,252 0.44 
			 2007-08 4,816 0.45 
		
	
	It should be noted that the waste figure also includes waste generated in DEFRA's laboratories as well as its offices.

Flooding Lessons Learned Review

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what date in June 2009 he expects his next six-monthly progress report on implementing the recommendations made in the Pitt report on flooding to have been published.

Huw Irranca-Davies: As we previously committed, I expect the Government's next progress report on the implementation of the Pitt recommendations to be published in June.

Flooding Lessons Learned Review

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made in implementing Recommendation 90 of the Pitt Report on flooding; and what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on this matter.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government's Response to Sir Michael Pitt's review set out what had been implemented before December 2008 and the further steps required to implement its recommendations in the future. This response committed the Government to report further on implementation every six months, beginning in June 2009. The Government are on target to do this in June.
	In April we followed up on a letter we issued last December to all local authorities asking chief executives about progress they have made on the Pitt recommendations, whether they have experienced any blockages or difficulties, and what further the Government can do to assist them.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what provision he has made to ensure business continuity during the transition period from the Marine and Fisheries Agency to the Marine Management Organisation;
	(2)  whether any financial incentives are being offered to staff in the London headquarters of the Marine and Fisheries Agency who are unable to relocate to Tyneside to stay in post during the organisation's transition period for reasons of business continuity rather than to seek early redeployment to another Civil Service post in London.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Robust action is being taken by the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) to ensure business continuity during the period of relocation of its headquarters to Tyneside and in preparing for the establishment of a new Marine Management Organisation. This includes plans for the timely recruitment of new staff to replace existing staff who will not be relocating. This recruitment will take into account the need for some periods of parallel running between the Tyneside and London offices for a number of teams to allow for training and knowledge transfer.
	Recognising the need to retain key staff during the transition period in order to ensure the necessary knowledge transfer, the MFA has instigated a 'Transition Allowance'. This will be payable to those MFA HQ staff identified as being in key roles and/or with specialist knowledge/skills who have opted not to relocate with their posts and who are prepared to delay their redeployment to another civil service post. It recognises the need to retain key people within the agency's HQ for an extended period to ensure business continuity and help train new staff.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will ensure that all staff in the new Marine Management Organisation will be eligible to apply for the same posts staff in the Marine and Fisheries Agency are eligible to apply for, with particular reference to posts advertised only within his Department;
	(2)  whether staff in the Marine Management Organisation will be eligible to apply for all posts in the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Huw Irranca-Davies: There is an established scheme by which non-departmental public bodies, such as the new Marine Management Organisation (MMO), can be accredited to have access to civil service vacancies. My officials are applying for such accreditation on behalf of the MMO to become effective when the organisation is vested. Initial enquiries reveal that there is no reason why this should not be granted. This will enable MMO staff to apply, on merit, for civil service posts via the civil service 'Jobs Online' facility.
	MMO staff will be able to apply for DEFRA vacancies that are advertised on the 'Jobs Online' site in the same way that MFA staff currently can. Similarly, staff in the MMO will be able to apply for posts in the Department of Energy and Climate Change advertised on 'Jobs Online' in the usual way.
	The Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSOP) which governs the transfer of civil servants between Departments, suggests that departments should provide an opportunity for staff to return to their original department if they wish. The MFA is currently exploring with DEFRA how this opportunity might be provided to MMO staff in the future.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when the first posts in the Marine and Fisheries Agency earmarked for transfer to the Marine Management Organisation will relocate from London to Tyneside; and when the remaining posts will relocate;
	(2)  when he expects to make an announcement of the specific location of the headquarters building for the Marine Management Organisation.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I hope to be able to announce the new headquarters building shortly.
	The Marine and Fisheries Agency is developing a relocation and recruitment plan for the Tyneside headquarters office. Any relocation of existing staff from London to the new HQ site, or transfer of posts to be filled by newly recruited staff in Tyneside, will be progressed in line with this plan. Current thinking is that relocation and recruitment would take place between July and November 2009. This is a broad timeline and some individual relocations may need to happen either earlier or later in order to reflect, where appropriate, personal circumstances.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what provision has been made for  (a) financial and  (b) other assistance for staff in the coastal offices of the Marine and Fisheries Agency who are considering applying for vacancies in the new Tyneside headquarters of the Marine Management Organisation;
	(2)  whether his Department has offered financial assistance to headquarters staff in the Marine and Fisheries Agency to relocate from London to Tyneside.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Financial assistance is being offered to headquarters staff in the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) to relocate with their existing posts from London to Tyneside. This assistance is in line with the relocation arrangements operated in my Department which are derived from, and consistent with, the financial assistance outlined centrally by the Cabinet Office for civil service relocations.
	The operational need to provide assistance, financial or otherwise, to relocations sought by members of staff from the MFA coastal offices, will be considered as part of the detailed relocation and recruitment plans being developed by the Agency.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure that the future management of the Marine Management Organisation meets commitments given to staff in the Marine and Fisheries Agency, with particular reference to  (a) trade union recognition,  (b) training and development opportunities and eligibility to apply for posts in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Staff would transfer to the MMO with the contractual terms and conditions applying at the time of transfer under either Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) or the equivalent Cabinet Office protocol for transfers of civil servants between departments.
	Rights to trade union representation will remain exactly as they are now and although the issues around recognition and training and development would be matters for the new MMO management board to take forward, there are no intentions to change the existing arrangements. On eligibility to apply for posts in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, I refer the hon. Member to my answer to his previous question numbered 275642.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the minimum time required for the shadow Marine Management Organisation body to exist before vestment of the Marine Management Organisation in order to ensure an effective transition from executive agency to non-departmental public body status;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to ensure that no shadow body for the Marine Management Organisation will be established before Royal Assent has been given to the Marine and Coastal Access Bill;
	(3)  when he expects the shadow Marine Management Organisation body to be created; and when he expects the chair and the chief executive officer of the Marine Management Organisation to be appointed to the shadow body.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The chair, board and chief executive officer of the Marine Management Organisation will be formally appointed following commencement of Clause 1 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act.
	In the meantime, I am seeking to appoint a chair and CEO "designate" contingent on the Bill receiving Royal Assent, to assist with the preparations for creating the Marine Management Organisation. There are existing principles which govern the setting up of shadow bodies and the appointments required, covered in Chapter 2 of HM Treasury's 'Managing Public Money' which can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_managingpublicmoney_publication.htm.
	My Department will operate in accordance with these principles.
	I recognise the importance of making these appointments in good time to assist with the creation of the Marine Management Organisation, in line with the principles outlined above. Plans are in place to ensure the effective transition from an executive agency to non-departmental public body status.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days his officials and consultants in the  (a) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and  (b) Marine and Fisheries Agency spent in (i) Tyneside and (ii) each other candidate location before the announcement to relocate the headquarters of the Marine Management Organisation from London.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Following extensive research undertaken on each of the shortlisted locations, officials from DEFRA and the Marine and Fisheries Agency, accompanied by KPMG consultants, spent a day in each location, including Tyneside. The visits provided further insights into the business and quality of life indicators used to derive the short-list. Information on the findings from the visits is set out in the KPMG report, copies of which are in the House Library.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the  (a) grade and  (b) salary is of each post in (i) his Department and (ii) the Marine and Fisheries Agency working to establish the Marine Management Organisation and its headquarters in Tyneside; and when these posts were created;
	(2)  which posts attract temporary additional responsibility allowance in relation to the creation of the Marine Management Organisation and the relocation of headquarters; for how long these allowances have been granted; how many have been granted for more than six months; and for what reasons these posts have not been advertised on promotion in fair and open recruitment competitions.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The work to prepare for the establishment of a new Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and to relocate the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) Headquarters are two separate projects. The relocation of the MFA Headquarters would be taking place regardless of any decisions to create a new MMO. Both projects are being delivered by an Implementation Team based in the MFA. The breakdown of posts currently in the implementation team provided below reflects resourcing of both activities and includes the Programme Management Office.
	
		
			   Salary range 
			   £  £ 
			 1 x Senior Civil Servant 57,300 116,000 
			 2 x Grade 6 56,139 67,504 
			 3 x Grade 7 46,184 55,976 
			 2 x Senior Executive Officer 34,336 41,851 
			 2 x Higher Executive Officer 29,191 34,326 
			 3 x Executive Officer 24,439 28,846 
			 1 x Consultant Project Officers — — 
		
	
	Support for creation of the MMO, including preparations for cross-Government sponsorship arrangements, is also being provided by a further Grade 7 post based in DEFRA. Some limited specialist HR expertise is also being provided by DEFRA to support the recruitment of staff in Tyneside and redeployment of existing MFA staff where appropriate.
	The Implementation Team has changed in size and profile at various stages of the project to reflect changing workloads, but broadly speaking a core project team consisting of six to eight posts has been in place in the MFA since the beginning of 2008-09. Additional resource has been recruited to the project since the beginning of 2009 to support activity during this implementation year.
	Three of the above posts are being delivered by members of staff who are receiving Temporary Additional Responsibility Allowance (TARA), all of which have been granted for longer than six months. The decision was taken not to fill these posts permanently with members of staff at the substantive grade required because of the relocation of the MFA Headquarters and the time-limited need of the implementation work.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there have been any recent changes to the timetable for the completion of the vestment of the Marine Management Organisation by 1 April 2010.

Huw Irranca-Davies: In common with any major programme of this type, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) implementation activity is under constant review with minor revisions to plans, approaches, and specific delivery dates. However, there have been no significant changes to the timetable for vesting the MMO and my officials are still working to a vesting date of 1 April 2010.

Rivers

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department and its agencies have spent on the restoration of riverbeds in each of the last three years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: In the past three years the Environment Agency has spent the following on projects that delivered a substantial element of riverbed restoration:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 0.819 
			 2007-08 1.026 
			 2008-09 1.176 
		
	
	River restoration schemes typically encompass several related activities such as the placement of spawning gravels, removal of debris, tree planting, bank protection and enhancement works, etc.

Rural Areas: Tourism

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2009,  Official Report, column 381W, on tourism: rural areas, how much funding from the Rural Development Programme for England 2007-13 has been provided for support to encourage rural tourism in each region.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 19 May 2009
	Each region has set out in published Regional Implementation Plans, the indicative allocation for support for rural tourism over the period 2007-13. Regions have taken different approaches to how these are expressed, but the approximate indicative allocations are:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 East of England 6.4 
			 East Midlands 2.7 
			 North East 2.4 
			 North West 4.5 
			 South East 5.1 
			 South West 10.9 
			 West Midlands 2.5 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3.3 
			 Total 37.8 
			  Source: Regional Implementation Plans: www.defra.gov.uk 
		
	
	These figures include amounts that Local Action Groups are planning to spend on tourism through the Leader approach, which are not included in the figures programmed to the tourism measure in the Rural Development Programme document.

TRANSPORT

Blue Badge Scheme

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 27 October 2008,  Official Report, column 601W, on the blue badge scheme, what progress has been made in developing a project implementation plan for the blue badge reform scheme; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the implementation plan when finalised.

Paul Clark: holding answer 2 April 2009
	We are in the process of finalising the blue badge project implementation plan. A high level plan will be published on the Department for Transport's website shortly. This is being developed to provide stakeholders and other interested parties with further information on each element of the work programme and an indication of the associated likely timeframes for implementation. Copies of the high level plan will be placed in the Library, once published.
	We also intend to publish regular Blue Badge Reform programme bulletins on the Department's website to provide progress updates.

Departmental Buildings

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) his Department and its predecessor and  (b) its agencies has spent on (i) refurbishment, (ii) maintenance and (iii) emergency repairs of its office estate in each year since 2001.

Geoff Hoon: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Furniture

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on office furniture in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 14 May 2009, to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps)  Official Report, columns 883-6W.

Departmental Lighting

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on  (a) lighting and  (b) light fixtures in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff employed in London on work contracted out by his Department earn less than £7.45 per hour.

Geoff Hoon: The number of staff employed in London on work contracted out by the Department for Transport is 54.

Departmental Work Experience

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many work placements his Department offered to  (a) school pupils,  (b) university students and  (c) graduates in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 17 December 2008,  Official Report, column 780-81W.
	The information requested for 2004 and 2005 can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Employment Tribunals Service

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many actions under employment law were brought against his Department in each of the last three years, broken down by category of action; and how many were contested by the Department at an employment tribunal.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 14 May 2009
	The total number of employment law actions brought against the Department for Transport in each of the last three years is broken down by category in the following table:
	
		
			   Category  Number of actions 
			 2006-07 Unfair dismissal 5 
			
			 2007-08 Disability discrimination 6 
			  Unfair dismissal 12 
			
			 2008-09 Disability discrimination 7 
			  Race discrimination 6 
			  Sex discrimination 6 
			  Constructive dismissal 5 
		
	
	In addition, a further 31 claims were brought against the Department during 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. These cases have not been broken down further by category in order to protect the confidentiality of the persons concerned.
	Overall, 12 cases were contested and decided at a full hearing of the Employment Tribunal.
	18,600 people are employed by the Department for Transport and its agencies.

Industrial Health and Safety

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on compliance with requirements of health and safety at work legislation in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

M1: Speed Limits

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2009,  Official Report , column 989W, on M1: speed limits, what his latest estimate is of the timetable for the installation of speed cameras between junctions 8 and 9 on the M1.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The installation of speed cameras between junction 8 and junction 9 on the M1 is expected to take place in early 2010.

M18: Lorries

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1603W, on M42: lorries, if he will introduce a restriction on overtaking by heavy goods vehicles on the M18; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: There are currently no plans to introduce a restriction on
	overtaking by heavy goods vehicles on the M18, since it does not meet the relevant criteria.
	As part of the Highways Agency's strategy to tackle congestion, the Agency has considered sites for implementing the HGV lane restrictions. Such sites should meet the following criteria namely; two lane motorway and all purpose trunk roads with gradients where HGVs represent a high proportion of traffic.

Railways: Carbon Emissions

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an estimate of the likely effects on levels of carbon dioxide emissions of the planned electrification work on the rail network.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport is working with the rail industry to assess the case for electrifying the Great Western and Midland Main Lines. Electrifying these two lines would reduce rail's carbon emissions by approximately 3 per cent. or 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Roads: Accidents

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities resulting from reported personal injury road accidents there were on stretches of roads with a  (a) 20,  (b) 30,  (c) 40 and  (d) 50 miles per hour speed limit in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of fatalities resulting from reported personal injury road accidents on urban/rural by speed limit of the roads in each of the last five years is given in the following tables:
	
		
			  Number of fatalities resulting from reported personal injury road accident, broken down by speed limit and rural/urban, 2003-2007 GB 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			  Speed limit  Urban  Rural  Urban  Rural  Urban  Rural 
			   No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  % 
			 20 mph(1) 4 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 7 7 1 0 
			 30 mph 898 74 185 8 787 73 197 9 811 77 179 8 
			 40 mph 164 14 129 6 176 16 137 6 132 13 126 6 
			 50 mph 34 3 121 5 33 3 106 5 24 2 119 6 
			 60 mph 36 3 1,446 63 36 3 1,330 62 46 4 1,300 60 
			 70 mph 71 6 418 18 47 4 364 17 29 3 427 20 
			  
			 All limits(2) 1,207 100 2,299 100 1,082 100 2,135 100 1,049 100 2,152 100 
		
	
	
		
			   2006  2007 
			  Speed limit  Urban  Rural  Urban  Rural 
			   No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  % 
			 20 mph(1) 13 1 4 0 6 1 3 0 
			 30 mph 769 72 173 8 729 75 170 9 
			 40 mph 181 17 143 7 119 12 134 7 
			 50 mph 25 2 105 5 30 3 95 5 
			 60 mph 38 4 1,292 61 40 4 1,202 61 
			 70 mph 43 4 386 18 49 5 369 19 
			  
			 All limits(2) 1,069 100 2,103 100 973 100 1,973 100 
			 (1) Includes residential 20 mph zones plus areas where by-laws restrict the speed limit to 20 mph. (2) Includes unknown and other speed limits.

Roads: Accidents

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents in each of the last 11 years were caused by drivers who had been granted a full driver's licence less than one year prior to the accident.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not available.

Roads: Accidents

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured in road accidents in each of the last 11 years were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not available.

Speed Limits

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Highways Agency on the reduction to 50 miles per hour of speed limits on single carriageway trunk roads under the Agency's control.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Highways Agency has been represented on a Steering Group responsible for the development a new road safety strategy for Great Britain. Aside from the Highways Agency, the Group comprises officials from the relevant Whitehall Departments and from the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly Government.
	The work of the Steering Group led to the consultation document on a new road safety strategy which we published on 21 April. This contains proposals to encourage highway authorities, including the Highways Agency, to reduce speed limits from 60 mph on those rural single carriageways roads where accident risks are high, on a carefully targeted basis.

Travel: Personal Records

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has carried out an impact assessment of the Home Office's proposal to give the police powers to collect advance passenger data in respect of domestic air and sea journeys; and what recent discussions there have been between officials of his Department and officials of the Home Office on this matter.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Section 14 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 gives the police the power, subject to commencement through secondary legislation, to require a carrier, on request, to capture passenger and crew identity and other service data on domestic routes. The Home Office has not yet made a decision to carry out a formal public consultation on the proposals, which would include a full regulatory impact assessment, though the intention would be to focus the use of this power only on crossings between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Department for Transport officials and those from the Home Office are in regular contact on the range of international counter-terrorism issues.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Jobcentre Plus

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many members of Jobcentre Plus staff in each  (a) region and  (b) Jobcentre Plus district participated in (i) Foundation Learning Routeway, (ii) Managers who Deliver—Leaders who Inspire and (iii) the Professional Skills for Government framework (A) in each year since the schemes were launched and (B) in each of the last 24 months;
	(2)  how much was  (a) budgeted and  (b) spent in each (i) region and (ii) Jobcentre Plus district on (A) Foundation Learning Routeway, (B) Managers who Deliver—Leaders who Inspire and (C) the Professional Skills for Government framework (1) in each year since the schemes were launched and (2) in each of the last 24 months.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking:
	how many members of Jobcentre Plus staff in each (a) region and (b) Jobcentre Plus district participated in (i) Foundation Learning Routeway (ii) Managers who Deliver—Leaders who Inspire and (iii) the Professional Skills for Government framework (A) in each year since the schemes were launched and (B) in each of the last 24 months.
	how much was (a) budgeted and (b) spent in each (i) region and (ii) Jobcentre Plus district on (A) Foundation Learning Routeway, (B) Managers who Deliver—Leaders who Inspire and (C) the Professional Skills for Government framework (1) in each year since the schemes were launched and (2) in each of the last 24 months.
	This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The new foundation learning materials consist of 14 learning and development products. The suite of products includes elements of mandatory and non mandatory learning and development materials, depending on an individual's job role. Line Managers in consultation with an individual will agree a pathway of foundation learning targeted at addressing their job role requirements.
	In April 2008, the foundation learning was reviewed and revised and therefore any historical information would not accurately reflect the number of individuals who undertook foundation learning over the last 24 months. Our systems are not set up to capture this type of management information, and it would need to be compiled clerically, which would incur disproportionate cost.
	The Jobcentre Plus management and leadership development programme (called "Managers who deliver—Leaders who inspire") is a relatively new programme that was piloted in September 2007 and rolled out nationally from early 2008. It was designed to incorporate the skills required by the Professional Skills for Government (PSG) framework so the two are inextricably linked. There is no separate learning intervention on the PSG framework itself in relation to the middle managers covered by this development programme, however PSG is a framework that is integrated into the appraisal and development planning for such managers.
	The available information regarding "Managers who deliver—Leaders who inspire" is attached at Annex 1. The volumes and costs data is broken down by region and operational arm, rather than just by Customer Service Directorate region and district as requested. This is because the Benefit and Fraud and Contact Centre Directorates do not have the same district based organisational structure. Information on how much was budgeted for this training is only collated at national level.
	 Annex 1
	
		
			  Numbers of participants in the "Managers who Deliver—Leaders who inspire" development programme in Jobcentre Plus from September 2007 to March 2009 
			  Regions  Contact Centre Direct  Benefit Fraud Directorate  Other Directorates 
			 East of England 31 12 8 
			 East Midlands 28 10 1 
			 London 73 26 1 
			 North East 22 31 3 
			 North West 38 32 10 
			 Scotland 42 13 3 
			 South East 49 26 3 
			 South West 38 22 3 
			 Wales 33 14 4 
			 West Midlands 58 11 2 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 26 6 15 
			 Total 438 203 53 
		
	
	
		
			  Costs of participants in the "Managers who deliver—Leaders who inspire" development programme in Jobcentre Plus from September 2007 to March 2009 
			  £ 
			   Customer Service Directorate  Benefit Fraud Directorate  Other Directorates 
			 East of England 87,400 29,600 1,800 
			 East Midlands 76,700 26,600 16,100 
			 London 192,300 69,200 1,800 
			 North East 49,800 74,500 8,900 
			 North West 105,100 78,400 12,400 
			 Scotland 118,100 38,900 8,800 
			 South East 168,100 72,500 7,100 
			 South West 94,200 59,100 8,900 
			 Wales 90,900 33,700 3,600 
			 West Midlands 168,400 28,500 37,200 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 69,600 44,200 7,100 
			 Total 1,220,600 552,500 113,700

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what roles he expects the planned aditional 6,000 Jobcentre Plus staff to fill.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves dated 20 May 2009:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what roles we expect the planned additional 6,000 Jobcentre Plus staff to fill. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	In line with the recent Budget announcements, Jobcentre Plus will be able to recruit up to 10,000 more staff. This is on top of the 6,000 new staff already announced in Pre Budget Report. Some 6,000 staff have been recruited between October 2008 and April 2009.
	All of this new resource will be applied to customer-facing services. More than half of these will be Personal Advisers with the rest in customer intervention and support roles within our customer service operations.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to reply to the letter of 6 April 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. H Kennedy.

James Purnell: A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend on 17 May 2009.

Social Security Benefits

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what welfare reform milestones he has set following the publication of the White Paper on welfare reform in December 2008.

Tony McNulty: We outlined a number of commitments in the White Paper 'Raising expectations and increasing support'. I have set these out in the following table.
	
		
			  'Raising expectations and increasing support' White Paper 
			   Milestones/commitments 
			 2008 New benefit rules to help lone parents back into work. 
			  STAR rating results for employment zone contacts. 
			  ESA introduced. 
			  IES trials go live 
			   
			 2009 Housing benefit external review consultation to take place. 
			  Extension of 'Better off in work credit' if it proves successful. 
			  Right to bid, bidding process opened. 
			  Pilot personal health budgets. 
			  Employment advisers as a core component of the Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies programme. 
			   
			 2009, April Drug co-ordinators introduced. ESA rate alignment commences. 
			  Income support and housing benefit extended to 21 for young persons in non-advanced full-time education by April 09. 
			   
			   
			 2009, October Phase one, FND launched. 
			   
			 2010 Work for your benefit introduced. Level one devolution by 2010, then fully embedded by 2010. 
			  Employ ability campaign widened by 2009-10. 
			  A 26 week minimum contribution period to national insurance in order to qualify for new ESA and JSA claimants. 
			  Progression to Work pathfinders for new ESA claims and lone parents with young children. 
			  Some level 2 activities with sub-regional partnerships operation by 2010 (joint-funded contracts with DWP retaining management of commissioning and contracts) in order to implement the 'multi-area agreement'. Skills screening fully operational. 
			  Pilot of the new regime for problem drug users implemented. 
			   
			 2010, April Full child maintenance disregard in all income related benefits. 
			   
			 2010, October New Specialist Disability Employment programme begins. 
			 Late 2010 Work-focused interviews extended to the two year point of the claim for new ESA claimants. 
			   
			 2010-13 Migration of existing incapacity benefits recipients to ESA. 
			  JSA joint claims for couples with a youngest child aged who do not have a child under age seven or over, where both members are capable of work. 
			  As customers are migrated those under 50 will receive a Pathways to Work style approach and those under 50 will have a less intensive regime plus pilots to seek further evidence on what works best for this group. 
			  Skills health checks for lone parents. 
			   
			 2011 Right to control, personal budgets to be fully operational. 
			  Universal information, advice and advocacy service for both people who need services and for their carers, for those who need support to articulate their needs and utilise their budget. 
			   
			 2011, March Invest to save pilots pathfinders are planned to go live. This will enable us to test out recommendations in the Gregg review, including progression to work conditionality. 
			  Personalised employment programmes go live. We will explore whether proposals for lone parents with children aged three to six can also be tested in this programme. We will also explore the feasibility of using the Accelerator funding model. These pilots will enable us to trial the conditionality framework recommended in the Gregg review, alongside his central recommendation that support should be personalised depending on need rather than the benefit someone receives 
			   
			 2012-13 JSA joint claims for couples with a youngest child aged seven or over. Income related support payable in respect of couples with at least one individual capable of work, will be paid via JSA only. 
			  Migration of existing IB recipients to ESA. As customers are migrated those under 50 will receive a Pathways to Work style approach and those under 50 will have a less intensive regime plus pilots to seek further evidence on what works best for this group. 
			   
			 2015 An expectation that where this makes good sense (i.e. will deliver more outcomes) some areas will be operating successfully City regions operating successfully at devolution level 3. 
			   
			 2020 Eradication of child poverty.

Unemployment Benefits

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 2-4WS, on support for jobseekers, from what budget the funding to be made available to eligible customers will be drawn.

Tony McNulty: The package of measures announced on 12 January is to be delivered by both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and is expected to cost £500 million over the two years to March 2011.
	HM Treasury provided DWP with an additional £295 million of funding and the Department will fund the balance of its own expected costs through a package of savings, including consequential programme savings.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Age: Discrimination

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government Equalities Office is taking to prevent age discrimination against 18 to 25 year olds.

Maria Eagle: The Government introduced protection from unjustifiable age discrimination in employment in 2006, which provided protection to employees of all ages including those aged 18 to 25. Our new Equality Bill, which had its second reading on Monday, will outlaw unjustifiable age discrimination against people 18 or over in the provision of goods and services and the exercise of public functions. It will also, as part of an extended public sector equality duty, require public authorities to consider the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations for people of different ages.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many  (a) BlackBerrys and  (b) other mobile telephones have been provided to (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in the Government Equalities Office in each year since its establishment.

Maria Eagle: The Government Equalities Office was established on 12 October 2007. Since then a total of 14 BlackBerry's and six mobile phones have been purchased for civil servants only. These purchases were made in the following financial years :
	
		
			   BlackBerry 's  Mobile phones 
			 2007-08 7 4 
			 2008-09 6 2 
			 2009-10(1) 1 0 
			 (1) Purchases to date

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many completed cases originating in  (a) Wales,  (b) Scotland and  (c) England the Equality and Human Rights Commission has taken up on behalf of individuals since its inception; and how many such cases concerned (i) disability discrimination, (ii) sexual discrimination and (iii) racial discrimination.

Maria Eagle: Between October 2007 and 31 March 2009, the Equality and Human Rights Commission undertook 203 completed cases on behalf of individuals:
	 (a) 191 cases originated from England;
	 (b) Eight cases originated from Scotland; and
	 (c) Four cases originated from Wales.
	(i) 179 completed cases concerned disability discrimination;
	(ii) 10 concerned sexual discrimination; and
	(iii) 14 concerned racial discrimination.
	Three cases concerned more than one strand of equality.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Resignations

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff have resigned from the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the last 12 months.

Maria Eagle: From 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, 34 permanent members of staff resigned from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Equality: Legal Costs

Stewart Jackson: EWCA and  (b) Baker and Others  v. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the London Borough of Bromley was; and which barristers were retained by the EHRC in relation to each case.

Maria Eagle: :
	Cost13,605.00 including VAT
	BarristersRobin Allen QC and Catherine Casserley.
	:
	Cost7,840.00 including VAT
	BarristerRobin Allen QC.

TREASURY

Banks: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to his Department's press notice of 19 January 2009, on the asset protection scheme, if he will undertake further due diligence in respect of securities identified as triple-A rated before they are included in the scheme.

Ian Pearson: The Treasury and its advisers are continuing to work with participating banks to conduct due diligence on the assets intended for inclusion in the scheme.
	Further detailed information will be provided after the final contracts are signed.

Child Tax Credit: Underpayments

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to inform people in cases where their child tax credits have been underpaid; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 15 May 2009
	 Tax credits is an annual system which is designed to be responsive to changes in families' circumstances. This is particularly important when income falls and around 355,000 households who were living on a lower income in March are receiving on average 35 more per week in tax credits.
	HMRC calculates an initial award for claimants based on their income for the previous year and their current family circumstances. Awards can be adjusted if claimants tell the Department of a change in their circumstances during the year. After the end of a year, HMRC sends tax credits customers an annual renewal pack asking them to provide or confirm details of their income and circumstances. This information is necessary to determine whether claimants have received the correct amount of tax credits in the tax year just ended. Tax credits customers can complete the process by returning the annual declaration and renewal forms or by calling the tax credits Helpline, usually by 31 July. Detailed information can be found on the Department's website at
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/index.htm
	Underpayments are calculated automatically and any amount still due is paid as a lump sum after a tax credits award is finalised and the customer is informed of the amount on their final award notice.

Child Trust Fund: Fife

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Child Trust Fund vouchers have been issued in North East Fife constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available; how many accounts have been opened by residents of the constituency; and what his estimate is of the value of those accounts.

Ian Pearson: HM Revenue and Customs estimates that 640 child trust fund vouchers were issued in North East Fife to children born between 6 April 2006 and 5 April 2007 and that 450 child trust fund accounts were subsequently opened by the parents or guardians of those children.
	HM Revenue and Customs does not have data on the value of child trust funds at constituency level.

Departmental Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of staff in his Department and its agencies received bonus payments in 2008-09; how much expenditure his Department incurred in respect of staff bonuses in 2008-09; what the largest single staff bonus payment was in that year; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (i) all staff and (ii) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 24 April 2009
	 Audited out-turn figures for 2008-09 are not yet available. The Treasury Group's Annual Report and Accounts will include details of the performance payments made by the Treasury Group, divided by its member organisations, and on the performance pay awarded to individual members of the Treasury Board. Performance pay in this context refers to variable pay which is not consolidated into base pay and is non-pensionable.

Finance Act 1987

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  for what reason HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has decided to close schemes permitted under section 58 of the Finance Act 1987; for what reason the decision was made with retrospective effect; what factors were taken into account in determining that the period of such retrospective effect would be seven years; and what the policy of HMRC is on charging interest on sums owed as a result of retrospective closure;
	(2)  what impact assessment HM Revenue and Customs has made of the effect of the retrospective closure of schemes permitted under section 58 of the Finance Act 1987; and if he will assess the effects of the closure on the financial situation of households operating such schemes.

Stephen Timms: Section 62 Finance (No. 2) Act 1987 retrospectively restored the principle that double taxation treaties do not affect a UK resident's liability to UK tax on their income or gains. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not believe that any tax avoidance schemes were permitted under that legislationalthough the tax avoidance schemes in question here purported to circumvent it.
	Evidence emerged that a large number of people were using the scheme and in light of a number of factors (including the widespread use, aggressive nature and artificiality of the scheme, the deliberate attempt to flout the clear intention of Parliament in 1987 and the need to ensure fairness and certainty for all taxpayers), the Government introduced legislation at section 58 Finance Act 2008 to put beyond doubt that none of the schemes workedand never had done.
	Although, like the 1987 legislation, it is indefinitely retrospective, HMRC is not aware of any relevant schemes prior to 2001. Any tax paid late will be subject to interest in accordance with the relevant legislation on late payments.
	Formal impact assessments are not published in respect of measures where the impact is only on those who are avoiding tax and thus one was not published for this particular measure. Such decisions on the production of an impact assessment are taken on a case-by-case basis. As indicated in the 2008 Financial Statement and Budget Report, it is estimated that the tax at stake on the schemes that purported to circumvent the 1987 legislation is around 200 million. Those who used those schemes are, like ail other UK taxpayers, required to pay tax on the profits that they earned.

Financial Markets: Credit

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what oversight his Department exercises over credit default swap contracts with consortia in which it has a financial stake; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such oversight; if he will consider the merits of introducing independent scrutiny of such contracts; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government's shareholdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds) are managed on a commercial basis by an arm's length company, UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI). UKFI's objective is to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder with due regard to the maintenance of financial stability and to act in a way that promotes competition.
	The framework document between HM Treasury and UKFI sets a requirement that UKFI will not intervene in the day-to-day management decisions or operational decisions of investee companies. The companies will retain their own independent boards, which will manage the banks and determine their strategy.
	HM Treasury and UK Financial Investments does not comment on individual contracts offered by or commercial decisions taken by its investee companies.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of taxpayers in Lancashire were paying income tax at the higher rate on the latest date for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: Around 54,000, or 9 per cent. of taxpayers in Lancashire, paid income tax at the higher rate for 2006-07. This information is based on the latest survey of personal incomes.

International Assistance: Sri Lanka

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with  (a) his international counterparts and  (b) Ministerial colleagues on the cancellation of the IMF loan to Sri Lanka.

Ian Pearson: The Government are concerned about the continuing humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka and is committed to helping Sri Lanka avoid an economic crisis that would hurt Sri Lanka's poor most. No IMF loans to Sri Lanka have been cancelled. The IMF has not yet presented a programme to the board for decision.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the email from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 15 April 2009, on green businesses.

Angela Eagle: Receipt of the correspondence referred to could not be traced. Copies have been requested from the hon. Member's office and will be dealt with as soon as possible following receipt.

Public Expenditure: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the 2009 Budget on small businesses in Coventry.

Angela Eagle: Building on the 20 billion fiscal stimulus announced in the pre-Budget report, the Chancellor set out a Budget which will provide further targeted support for individuals and businesses through the current downturn, while ensuring the economy is able to make a strong and sustainable recovery.
	Tax policies announced from the 2008 pre-Budget report are delivering 3 billion to improve business cash flow, complemented by 2 billion of lending support. Budget 2009 announced a further 3 billion to improve business cash flow and encourage future investment, as well as up to 5 billion of trade credit insurance support.
	Budget 2009 also announced the expansion of HMRC's Business Payment Support Service to offer enhanced support for firms making losses now. Since the 2008 pre-Budget report this service has reached 490 agreements with businesses in Coventry to spread tax payments worth 10 million.
	Details of the impact of Budget measures on the west midlands region can be found at
	http://budget.treasury.gov.uk/regions.htm

Redundancy: Government Assistance

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what measures he introduced in the 2009 Budget to assist householders in circumstances where one or more wage-earners has been made redundant and levels of domestic indebtedness are increasing;
	(2)  what measures in the 2009 Budget assist members of black and minority ethnic communities in rural areas who have recently been made redundant.

Stephen Timms: To help provide support for individuals who have been made redundant, the Budget announced a one-off increase of 30 in the level of statutory redundancy pay, increasing the weekly rate to 380. Redundancy pay is a right for all employees who have worked continuously for their employer for two years and are made redundant. Subject to parliamentary approval, the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform intends to implement this increase on 1 October 2009.
	This builds on existing support such as the tax credit system, which is designed to respond quickly to changing circumstances, and has helped 355,000 households living on a lower income to receive an average of 35 per week more in tax credits. The pre-Budget report in November 2008 also announced a substantial package of support. This includes extending the Rapid Response Service, which provides a range of on-site personalised support through Jobcentre Plus; extending Local Employment Partnerships to assist the recently unemployed in their local labour market; and enhancements to Support for Mortgage Interest, to better help people out of work to meet the interest payments on their mortgage.

Revenue and Customs: Closures

Edward Timpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what percentage of the budget for HM Revenue and Customs' Workforce Change programme has been spent to date;
	(2)  what percentage of HM Revenue and Customs' Workforce Change programme has been completed to date;
	(3)  what budget has been set for HM Revenue and Customs' Workforce Change programme.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 8 May 2009
	 The aim of the Workforce Change programme is to match HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) staff resources and estate to the Department's future business needs and deliver improved efficiencies for the taxpayer. HMRC expects to realise over 230 million in sustainable savings as well as wider business efficiencies as a result of releasing surplus office space and re-organising into larger more efficient teams in fewer offices.
	HMRC allocated and centrally funded 65 million for the Workforce Change programme in 2008-09. For 2009-10 individual lines of business within HMRC will fund business restructuring plans from their general funding allocations.
	HMRC is aiming to reduce its estate by 500,000 sq m approximately one third of the estate inherited from its predecessor departmentsby March 2012. To date, HMRC has reduced its estate by 218 000 sq m, or approximately 43 per cent. of this target.

Taxation: Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assistance the Government offered each UK Overseas Territory to facilitate  (a) the completion of tax information exchange agreements and  (b) inclusion in the OECD list of jurisdictions that had substantially implemented the internationally-agreed tax standard before the G20 Meeting in April 2009.

Stephen Timms: The negotiation of tax information exchange agreements with other jurisdictions, including the UK, is essentially a matter for the Overseas Territories themselves. Such agreements are negotiated under Entrustments granted by the UK. The UK offers assistance where appropriate and encourages dialogue between the Overseas Territories and other countries. In the case of jurisdictions with particular capacity constraints, the UK offers more extensive assistance.
	Inclusion in the OECD list of jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard is based on assessments carried out by the OECD.

Taxation: Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what correspondence he has had with the administrations of the UK Overseas Territories on removal of their tax haven status;
	(2)  when the Government first informed the administrations of the UK Overseas Territories of the requirement to conclude tax information exchange agreements prior to their removal from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development list of the jurisdictions considered to be tax havens;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the administrations of the UK Overseas Territories on the timetable for  (a) their agreement to the tax information exchange grants required by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and  (b) the inclusion of their jurisdictions on the OECD White List; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government maintain continuing dialogue with the Overseas Territories on tax co-operation issues. A number of Overseas Territories began negotiating tax information exchange agreements some years ago following commitments they made to comply with OECD standards. The Government welcome progress made so far and encourages all jurisdictions to maintain their efforts to implement the internationally agreed standard.

Taxation: Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent correspondence he has had with the administrations of the Crown Dependencies on removal of their tax haven status;
	(2)  when the Government first informed the administrations of the Crown Dependencies of the requirement to conclude tax information exchange agreements prior to their removal from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development list of the jurisdictions considered to be tax havens.

Stephen Timms: The Government maintain continuing dialogue with the Crown Dependences on tax co-operation issues. The Crown Dependences began negotiating tax information exchange agreements some years ago following commitments they made to comply with OECD standards. The Government welcome the inclusion of the Crown Dependences in the OECD list of jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard.

Taxation: Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implication for the Government's policy on reducing tax avoidance of the progress made by the UK Overseas Territories towards signature of tax information exchange grants prior to the G20 Summit in April 2009.

Stephen Timms: Tax information exchange agreements play an important role in combating tax evasion and avoidance. Overseas Territories have recently concluded a number of agreements but it is too early to assess their impact.

Taxation: Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his policy is on the standards which Crown Dependencies should meet in respect of requirements for disclosure of information on tax regimes;
	(2)  what his policy is on the standards which UK Overseas Territories should meet in respect of requirements for disclosure of information on tax regimes.

Stephen Timms: The Government expect the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories to comply with international standards of transparency and exchange of information in tax matters as developed by the OECD and endorsed by the G20.

Taxation: Gambling

Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to amusement machine licence duty announced in the 2009 Budget on  (a) pubs,  (b) seaside arcades,  (c) bingo clubs and  (d) the gaming machine industry.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury assess the broad impact of changes to gambling taxes and duties but the information collected by HMRC from amusement machine licence duty returns does not identify the sector in which the machine is located. Budget 2009 announced an increase in amusement machine licence duty, which is expected to add around one percentage point to gaming machines' effective tax rate. The costings implications can be found in table A1 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Edward Timpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to provide a substantive answer to Question  (a) 273637,  (b) 273638,  (c) 273640 and  (d) 273641 on the HM Revenue and Customs Workforce Change Programme tabled on 5 May 2009 for named day answer on 8 May.

Stephen Timms: I have replied to the hon. Member.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Billing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency paid in interest to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Interest payments to suppliers in respect of late payment of invoices are not centrally or separately recorded on the Department's or The Royal Parks' accounting systems and can only be identified at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on  (a) conference services and  (b) banqueting services in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department's accounting system does not record costs relating to banqueting services discretely and to obtain these would incur disproportionate cost.
	The costs relating to conference services are listed in the following table.
	
		
			   Conference services costs () 
			 2008-09 79,724 
			 2007-08 148,034 
			 2006-07 227,678 
			 2005-06 151,093 
			 2004-05 58,272

Departmental Stationery

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on branded stationery and gifts for  (a) internal and  (b) external promotional use in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department has spent the following on branded DCMS stationery (letterhead, business cards and compliment slips) in the past five years:
	
		
			   Spend () 
			 2004-05 12,421.32 
			 2005-06 13,904 
			 2006-07 16,027.18 
			 2007-08 9,891.86 
			 2008-09 6,514.30 
		
	
	The Department has spent the following on branded gifts in the past five years :
	
		
			Spend () 
			 2006-07  (a) Internal 446.74 
			 2008-09  (b) External 3,738

Stress

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of sickness absence taken by staff in his Department was attributable to work-related stress in the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Our records do not distinguish between sickness caused by work-related stress and stress due to other causes and this information could be compiled only at a disproportionate cost.

Swimming Pools

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial support his Department has provided to  (a) local authorities and  (b) community groups for the construction of swimming pools in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England have advised that while they hold details of financial support for the redevelopment of leisure centres they cannot identify the support set aside for the construction of swimming pools. The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	In the 2009-10 planning round, under the Free Swimming Capital Modernisation programme, approximately 5.5 million of funding will support the construction of new pools.

Tourism: Scotland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage tourists to visit Scotland.

Barbara Follett: DCMS supports UK tourism via its grant in aid sponsorship of VisitBritain who in turn promote Scotland as a holiday destination as part of its remit.
	This promotion is undertaken through various platforms such press, public relations, the travel trade and the internet.
	Currently VisitBritain is working in partnership with Visit Scotland and hosting a dedicated web page for the Homecoming Scotland 2009 strategy. This is aimed at promoting tourism in Scotland via a year-long programme of events to celebrate some of Scotland's greatest contributions to the world.

Tourism: Standards

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the participation levels have been in Visit Britain's National Quality Assessment scheme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: VisitBritain have provided the following data about the participation levels in the National Quality Assessment scheme for the period April 2005 to April 2009.
	
		
			  As at April each year  All sectors of visitor economy  Holiday Cottage Group (franchise ratings)  Total assessed 
			 2005 22,981 n/a 22,981 
			 2006 22,626 n/a 22,626 
			 2007 22,936 2,972 25,908 
			 2008 23,577 2,797 26,374 
			 2009 (1)23,997 3,270 27,267 
			 (1) 4.4 per cent. increase in VisitEngland assessed since April 2005 (excluding Holiday Cottage Group ratings)

OLYMPICS

Departmental Furniture

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much the Olympic Delivery Authority spent on furniture in each of the last five years.

Tessa Jowell: As a new organisation established in 2006, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) purchased furniture for its offices in Canary Wharf and Stratford at a total cost of 1.7 million. The breakdown by year is: 2006 0.9 million, 2007 0.7 million and 2008 0.1 million.
	To secure better value for money, a cost sharing agreement is in place with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic games and Paralympic games who will use this furniture as their staffing increases in the build-up to the games and the role of the ODA diminishes.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many contracts have been let by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in each of the last five years; what the monetary value of each such contract was; and what services were supplied under each such contract.

Iain Wright: The Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies have not let any contracts to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in the last five years.
	The Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies have however, worked on a number of joint projects and programmes with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment to which the respective organisations have contributed appropriately under the Government's guidance for joint working between public bodies.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment on tendering for contracts from the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has not spent anything on tendering for contracts from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) or its predecessor bodies in each of the last three years. CABE is a statutory non-departmental public body. It has worked in partnership with the HCA and its predecessor bodies, the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships, on a number of joint projects. In these circumstances, each organisation contributes appropriately, in accordance with Government guidance for joint working between public bodies. This is to avoid duplication of effort and to ensure that each brings to the project the benefit of its distinct capabilities and separate and different statutory functions.

Council Tax: Valuation

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 879W, on council tax, how many homes were revalued for council tax purposes at the point of sale following property improvements in each region in each year since 1997; and how many such homes were revalued to  (a) a higher,  (b) a lower and  (c) the same council tax band.

John Healey: The Valuation Office Agency is required to review council tax bands at the point of sale when a property has previously been improved. This review will result in either a band increase or the band remaining unaltered. The number of properties reviewed and the outcome of this review, for each year since 1997, broken down into Government regions for England, are as follows:
	
		
			   East Midlands  East of England  London  North East  North West 
			  31 March to 1 April  Band increased  Band unaltered  Band increased  Band unaltered  Band increased  Band unaltered  Band increased  Band unaltered  Band increased  Band unaltered 
			 1997-98 313 1,497 688 2,286 275 1,037 186 779 316 1,484 
			 1998-99 286 1,268 755 1,814 287 1,120 190 735 389 1,547 
			 1999-2000 563 2,570 974 4,115 469 1,582 255 1,369 669 3,768 
			 2000-01 472 2,269 753 3,483 411 2,025 275 1,378 669 3,206 
			 2001-02 581 2,791 1,003 4,481 376 2,418 428 1,837 913 3,574 
			 2002-03 639 3,556 1,186 4,972 800 4,604 428 1,799 933 4,596 
			 2003-04 707 4,069 1,181 4,832 751 4,650 359 1,968 782 4,827 
			 2004-05 709 5,526 1,438 6,725 847 4,327 336 2,278 847 5,837 
			 2005-06 867 6,009 1,956 7,497 1,232 5,664 364 2,334 979 5,986 
			 2006-07 852 5,076 2,029 7,136 1,406 4,639 432 2,458 949 5,869 
			 2007-08 1262 6,891 3,236 9,626 2,923 7,217 750 3,279 1,540 8,375 
			 2008-09 558 3,231 1,379 5,589 1,305 3,243 283 1,500 724 3,604 
		
	
	
		
			   South East  South West  West Midlands  Yorkshire and The Humber 
			  31 March to 1 April  Band increased  Band unaltered  Band increased  Band unaltered  Band increased  Band unaltered  Band increased  Band unaltered 
			 1997-98 1,386 3,121 833 1,757 376 1,228 203 928 
			 1998-99 890 2,760 742 1,580 441 1,274 204 1,690 
			 1999-2000 1,288 5,731 982 3,112 556 2,455 410 1,691 
			 2000-01 1,288 5,492 886 3,089 652 2,555 385 1,543 
			 2001-02 1,464 6,742 727 3,777 540 2,618 595 2,206 
			 2002-03 1,961 8,660 998 4,801 557 3,621 499 2,404 
			 2003-04 1,619 7,139 853 4,334 675 3,733 555 2,988 
			 2004-05 2,072 10,379 1,194 5,754 770 4,315 646 3,838 
			 2005-06 2,543 11,936 1,304 6,996 999 5,517 756 4,435 
			 2006-07 2,857 11,217 1,519 7,065 1,005 5,097 868 4,588 
			 2007-08 4,611 15,296 2,333 9,453 1,438 6,703 1,305 5,446 
			 2008-09 1,868 6,743 970 4,193 664 3,164 655 2,458

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average net weekly income was of a household living in  (a) registered social landlord and  (b) local authority accommodation in each of the last five years.

Kitty Ussher: I have been asked to reply.
	The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Median household income ( per week), for council and housing association tenants, United Kingdom, 2003-04 to 2007-08, before and after housing costs 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			   Rented from council  Rented from a housing association  Rented from council  Rented from a housing association 
			 2003-04 268 275 198 193 
			 2004-05 271 284 205 207 
			 2005-06 274 292 209 211 
			 2006-07 277 288 211 209 
			 2007-08 272 290 209 215 
			  Notes: 1. These statistics are based on households below average income, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for household below average income figures is single financial years. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or equivalised) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors. 6. Median household incomes are used as these are less affected by outliers. Incomes are presented in 2007-08 prices and have been rounded to the nearest pound sterling. 7. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing costs, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 8. Separate council and housing association figures should be treated with caution. This is because a significant number of housing association tenants wrongly report that they are council tenants. The most common reason for this is where their home used to be owned by the council and although ownership has now transferred to a housing association, the tenant still thinks that their landlord is the council (local authority).  Source:  Households Below Average Income, 2003-04-2007-08

SCOTLAND

Departmental Work Experience

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many work placements his Department offered to  (a) school pupils,  (b) university students and  (c) graduates in each of the last five years.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office is part of the Ministry of Justice and does not retain information on work placement opportunities to school pupils, university students and graduates.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Crimes of Violence

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many convictions for violent crime offences there were in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; what the average sentence handed down for such offences was in each of those years; and how many of those so sentenced received the maximum possible sentence in each year.

Paul Goggins: The following table gives the number of convictions, the number sentenced to immediate custody, the average custodial sentence length (in months) and the number given the maximum sentence for violent offences.
	Violent offences include the offence classifications of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. When sentencing convicted offenders, judges and magistrates take account of the characteristics of the offender including age, previous convictions and characteristics in terms of seriousness and the degree of culpability.
	Data cover the calendar years 2004 to 2006 (the latest available years) and are collated on the principal offence rule; only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
	
		
			  Number convicted of violent offences (violence against the person, sexual and robbery offences), number sentenced to immediate custody, the average custodial sentence length (in months) and number given the maximum sentence 2004-06 
			   2004  2005  2006 
			 Number convicted 2,308 2,280 2,606 
			 Number sentenced to immediate custody(1) 510 517 648 
			 Average custodial sentence length (in months)(2) 25 26 26 
			 Number given the maximum sentence 16 17 15 
			 (1) The number sentenced to immediate custody includes those given life imprisonment or a juvenile justice centre order. (2) The average custodial sentence lengths exclude life sentences and juvenile justice centre orders.

Crimes of Violence: Foreigners

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many foreign nationals are serving sentences for violent crime in prisons in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: At 14 May the Northern Ireland Prison Service held 123 foreign national prisoners of whom 54 were sentenced prisoners. Of these, 18 were serving sentences for violent crime and had received sentences from the courts ranging from two years to life.

Departmental Billing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies paid in interest to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The Department does not separately record details on interest for late payment of invoices under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
	The Department's agencies paid a total of 34,542.42 in 2008-09. No amounts were paid in 2007-08 or 2006-07.

Drugs: Misuse

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many community drug awareness campaigns have been undertaken by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each of the policing districts in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of their effectiveness in each case.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Females

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps British forces in Afghanistan have taken to protect girls' schools and girls travelling to and from school from violent attacks; and what discussions his Department has had with its military allies on the matter.

Bob Ainsworth: ISAF forces in Afghanistan continue to work hard, in conjunction with the Afghan National Security Forces, to afford all Afghan nationals a safe and secure environment in which to go about their daily lives. To comment further on operational planning would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many service personnel injured in Afghanistan were admitted to UK hospitals as a result of their injury in each year since 2001;
	(2)  how many service personnel injured in Afghanistan have been hospitalised for more than  (a) three months,  (b) six months and  (c) nine months as a result of their injury.

Kevan Jones: Prior to 8 October 2007, the information requested was not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, from 8 October 2007, the Defence Patient Tracking System (DPTS) has provided a centrally available record of locations where healthcare is being delivered along the care pathway of military patients.
	Between 8 October 2007 and 14 May 2009, the DPTS shows 387 service personnel were admitted as an in-patient to one or more UK hospitals because of injuries sustained in Afghanistan. Of these personnel, 330 were admitted as an in-patient to one UK hospital only and 57 were admitted as an in-patient to more than one UK hospital.
	11 of the 387 Service personnel were admitted to a UK hospital and were an in-patient for more than three months but less than six months.
	None of the 387 Service personnel were admitted to a UK hospital and were an in-patient for more than six months but less than nine months.
	None of the 387 Service personnel were admitted to a UK hospital and were an in-patient for more than nine months.
	215 of the 387 Service Personnel included in this response still have open care pathways in the DPTS as they are still receiving specialist treatment. As such, some might require further periods as a hospital in-patient after 14 May 2009, leading to an increased cumulative length of time they have been admitted as an in-patient.
	Some injured service personnel also receive out-patient hospital care and, or rehabilitation at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court or at one of the MOD's Regional Rehabilitation Units.

Armed Forces: Eyesight

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) male and  (b) female recruits to the Royal Navy Air Crew Pilot Branch were accepted with myopia of (i) -0.75 exactly, (b) less than -0.75 and (c) more than -0.75 are in both eyes in the last 12 months; and what the required eyesight standards for similar disciplines in other parts of the armed forces.  [Official Report, 10 June 2009, Vol. 493, c. 7MC.]

Kevan Jones: The number of male and female recruits to the Royal Navy Air Crew Pilot Branch accepted with myopia in both eyes in the last 12 months are provided as follows.
	
		
			  MYOPIA 
			   Male  Female 
			 -0.75 1 0 
			 -0.75 9 0 
			 -0.75 0 0 
		
	
	The Aircrew Entry Visual Standard for myopia of -0.75 is common across all three services. However the nature of secondary duties undertaken by Royal Navy personnel requires their pilots to pass an additional colour perception test.

AWE Aldermaston

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reasons are for rescheduling the nuclear accident planning exercise at AWE Aldermaston from 13 May to 3 June 2009.

Quentin Davies: The site exercise at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston planned for 13 May 2009 was rescheduled as associated restrictions would have clashed with planned activities elsewhere on the site. The rearranged date of 3 June 2009 was agreed with the regulator, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate.

Departmental Public Appointments

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which former  (a) hon. Members who left Parliament since 1997 and  (b) Members of the House of Lords from each party have been appointed to positions on public bodies within his Department's responsibility; and who made each appointment.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 27 March 2009
	 Information on board membership and remuneration is published in individual bodies' annual report and accounts.

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on the purchase of  (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and  (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of office supplies purchased by his Department were recycled products in the latest period for which figures are available.

Kevan Jones: In financial year 2008-09, the MOD spent a total of 20.3 million on its corporate office supplies contracts. Of that figure, 54 per cent. (11 million) was spent on products that contained recycled material.
	Until 1 October 2007 MOD office supplies, including printer consumables, were purchased under a number of separate contracts.
	Information relating to spend prior to this date is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The amount spent since 1 October 2007 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   million 
			   FY 2007-08  FY 2008-09 
			 Recycled office supplies (excluding printer ink/toner cartridges as shown below) 0.3 0.7 
			
			  Printer ink/toner cartridges   
			 (a) Remanufactured (i.e. with 100 per cent. recycled content) 0.6 1.3 
			 (b) Containing approximately 10 per cent. recycled material 4.0 9.0 
			 (c) Containing no recycled material 0.5 1.0 
			 Total spend on printer ink/toner cartridges 5.1 11.3

Ex-servicemen: Military Decorations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the number of people who have applied for a veterans' badge.

Kevan Jones: As at 14 May 2009 over 717,000 veterans badges have been issued. This total includes those issued as a result of individual application and also badges now awarded automatically to those leaving the services.

Ex-servicemen: Pensions

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans are not able to join either the AFPS75 or AFPS05 pension scheme; and how many veterans who left the armed forces before 1975 receive a preserved pension.

Kevan Jones: The number of veterans who are not able to join either the AFPS75 or AFPS05 pension scheme is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As preserved pensions were introduced from 1975, no veterans who left prior to this would be in receipt of a preserved pension.

Ex-servicemen: Pensions

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what minimum level of hearing loss from active service is necessary for a veteran to receive a disablement pension on the grounds of hearing loss.

Kevan Jones: No fault compensation for disorders caused by service before 6 April 2005 is provided by the War Pensions Scheme. Its legislation sets out the method of assessment and provides that disablement pensions are paid where disablement is assessed at 20 per cent. or more. For hearing loss this equates to 50dB loss in each ear averaged over 1, 2 and 3 kHz.
	The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme applies to disorders caused on or after 6 April 2005. This scheme is tariff based with lump sum awards linked to specific descriptors. For more serious disorders there is an additional Guaranteed Income Payment payable for life. The lowest award for hearing loss alone is the descriptor 'bilateral permanent hearing loss of 50-75dB averaged over 1, 2 and 3 kHz with mild or no tinnitus'. In addition a Guaranteed Income Payment becomes payable where hearing loss alone exceeds 75dB averaged over 1, 2 and 3 kHz in each ear.
	The Ministry of Defence's approach to the assessment of service related sensorineural hearing loss for both the War Pensions Scheme and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is based on contemporary scientific evidence and understanding. This approach has been confirmed in recent years by several reviews carried out by independent audiological experts.

Ex-servicemen: Pensions

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to review the eligibility criteria for entitlement  (a) to a preserved pension and  (b) to pensions for those who served in the armed forces prior to 1975; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence currently has no plans to review the eligibility criteria for entitlement to a preserved pension and to pensions for those who served in the armed forces prior to 1975.

Military Bases: Aviation

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many logistic movers there are at each military airport; and what the full establishment is in each case.

Bob Ainsworth: The amount of Logistics (Mover) Tradesmen and full establishment figures at each military airport is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Unit  Establishment  Strength 
			 RAF Brize Norton(1) 269 225 
			 RAF Lyneham(1) 308 286 
			 RAF Akrotiri 54 54 
			 RAF Aldergrove 7 6 
			 RAF Ascension Island 7 7 
			 RAF Benson 6 6 
			 RAF Coningsby 13 13 
			 RAF Cottesmore 7 7 
			 RAF Gibraltar 9 9 
			 RAF Kinloss 5 5 
			 RAF Leeming 6 6 
			 RAF Leuchars 6 6 
			 RAF Lossiemouth 7 7 
			 RAF Marham 13 13 
			 RAF Northolt 26 26 
			 RAF Odiham 32 32 
			 RAF Wittering 6 5 
			 RAF Waddington 6 6 
			
			  Out of Area   
			 Herrick(2) 42 42 
			 Telic(2) 47 47 
			 Falkland Island(2) 9 9 
			
			 Logs officers(3) 57 51 
			 (1) The deficit in personnel is met by the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and Contractors to ensure operational output is maintained. (2) Out of Area positions in theatre have Logistics (Mover) personnel that are drawn from across all RAF stations. (3) Logistic Branch Officers also undertake Movement roles, however they are not part of the Logistic (Mover) Trade but are a Branch. Therefore, they have been tabled separately from the Units.

Military Exercises

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's military training exercises has  (a) been cancelled and  (b) been cancelled because of a lack of appropriate equipment in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: The armed forces conduct a wide variety of overseas military exercises each year. All overseas exercises are conducted in order to generate, or maintain military capability in line with the tasks outlined in Defence Strategic Guidance. On occasion, exercises are cancelled for reasons that include effectiveness of delivery; value for money constraints; international policy dimensions and circumstances; changed priorities; operational constraints; and focus on current operations. The proportion of MOD exercises cancelled since 2003 is in the following table.
	
		
			   Scheduled training events  Cancelled events  Percentage  Conducted 
			 2008-09 542 80 14.7 462 
			 2007-08 722 76 10.5 646 
			 2006-07 680 64 9.4 616 
			 2005-06 533 58 10.8 475 
			 2004-05 379 79 20.8 300 
			 2003-04 350 151 43 199 
		
	
	Since 2003, there have been no exercises cancelled due to a lack of appropriate equipment.
	Details of the exercises cancelled prior to 2003 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pakistan: EU Action

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution his Department made to the EU's Pakistan Country Strategy Paper 2007 to 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The Department for International Development has the UK Government lead for the European Commission's Pakistan Country Strategy Paper 2007 to 2013 which focuses on poverty reduction in Pakistan. The Ministry of Defence made no contribution to this strategy paper.

Trident

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which potential aggressors he expects to be deterred by the Trident nuclear deterrent programme in 2024.

Bob Ainsworth: The 2006 White Paper: The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent (Cmd 6994), section three, paragraphs 3-8 to 3-13, states that over the next 20 to 50 years we can foresee nuclear risks in three areas: Re-emergence of a major nuclear threat; emerging nuclear states and state-sponsored terrorism.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Accountancy

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's internal audit department report to the accounting officer for every financial year since 1997-98.

Michael Foster: Internal audit reports are produced for internal management purposes and releasing them would risk undermining the integrity and effectiveness of the audit process, as well as the safe, secure and effective operation of the Department for International Development (DFID).

UN Development Programme

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how much non-core funding his Department has provided to the United Nations Development programme in each financial year since 1997-98; and to which projects in each country of operation such funding was allocated;
	(2)  how much core funding his Department has provided to the United Nations Development programme in each financial year since 1997-98;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each agreement between his Department and the United Nations Development programme (UNDP) on  (a) financial,  (b) technical and  (c) other means of co-operation with the UNDP.

Douglas Alexander: The Statistics on International Development publications, available in the House of Commons Library and at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Finance-and-performance/DFID-Expenditure-Statistics/
	provide details of total external assistance through multilateral agencies from all official UK sources. Country-level information on DFID funding for UNDP cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The UNDP/UK/Denmark Institutional Strategy (IS) 2008-11 sets out how the UK Government will work with the United Nations Development programme (UNDP) over the period 2008-11. It is available at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/undp-is-2008-2011.pdf
	The DFID Annual Report outlines the levels of financial support which supports this Institutional Strategy. This is available in the House Library or at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Finance-and-performance/Annual-report/

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Aung San Suu Kyi

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations  (a) he and  (b) the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to Burma have made to the Burmese regime on the health of Aung San Suu Kyi; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: We were greatly concerned by reports that Aung San Suu Kyi was suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration at the beginning of May. However, latest reporting suggests that her condition has improved. Mrs Suu Kyi was reported to be in good spirits during a visit by an assistant to her regular doctor on Monday 11 May 2009. We have also received reports that she appeared to be in good health on arrival for her trial on 18 May 2009. Nonetheless, we remain concerned that Mrs Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for a considerable period and has not had the level of medical care that can be enjoyed by a free individual. In striking contrast, senior military leaders go out of Burma for medical treatment whenever the need arises.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he and  (b) the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to Burma has had with governments of ASEAN countries on the arrest and detention of Aung San Suu Kyi by the Burmese regime on 14 May 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: We are in regular contact with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries regarding Burma's actions, including on Mrs Suu Kyi's arrest. We support the strong statements issued by a number of member countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bill Rammell, and European colleagues will be attending the EU-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in Phnom Penh on 27-28 May 2009, where he will raise Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest and our collective response with our Asian counterparts.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to seek to secure the release of Aung San Suu Kyi following her arrest and detention by the Burmese regime on 14 May 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi on 14 May 2009 is of serious concern and shows how determined the regime are to silence her. Our embassy in Rangoon was in contact with the Burmese Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately on 14 May. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister issued a statement on the morning of 14 May, condemning the regime's actions, The UK actively pursued a statement issued on behalf of the EU and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed with EU counterparts in Brussels on 19 May 2009 further steps the EU should take.
	We are continuing to discuss the situation with our international colleagues in the UN. Once the outcome of the trial is known, we will actively consider how best to engage members of the UN Security Council further on the situation in Burma.

China: Christianity

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chinese government on the detention of two Chinese Christians, Alimiyiang Yimih and Wusiman Yiming; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The case of Alimjan Himit (who we believe is also known as Alimujiang Yimiti) was raised at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in January as part of an individual case list. We urged the Chinese to consider freeing Alimjan, and to ensure he had access to a defence lawyer. The Chinese responded that Alimjan was detained in Kashgar Detention Centre, and that his physical conditions were normal and he enjoyed the rights to family visits and to hire a defence lawyer according to law.
	The case of Osman Imin (known as Wusiman Yiming in Chinese documentation) was also raised at our bilateral Human Rights Dialogue in January as part of the case list. We asked for information on the nature of the charges brought against Osman, information on where he is being held and his expected release date. To date we have not yet had a response.
	We will continue to monitor both of these cases and raise them wherever appropriate. We will also continue to raise broader issues of religious freedom and to urge the Chinese Government to ratify the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights.

Departmental Contracts

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The provision for UK based language training for Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officers was outsourced in 2007 after the completion of a tender process in accordance with Government guidelines. A framework agreement was signed with 15 providers. Within the framework, each newly commissioned course is subject to competition between these providers.
	Information and data covering the FCO's global outsourcing of services are not held centrally and could, therefore, be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Data Protection

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to maintain the security of its databases; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Security Policy Framework, the Data Handling Report and the National Information Assurance Strategy produced by the Cabinet Office provides a strategy for protecting information that government handles and puts in place a set of mandatory measures which Departments must adhere to.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is compliant with the security policies contained in the Government Security Policy Framework including those for information security.

Departmental Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff employed in London on work contracted out by his Department earn less than 7.45 per hour.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 12 May 2009
	Details for every Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) directorate are not held centrally, and to give a comprehensive answer would incur disproportionate cost. However, among those FCO directorates that principally contract out work in this way, there are currently 70 staff performing work which is contracted out and who earn less that 7.45 per hour.
	Those contracted on a temporary basis and sourced via an agency, rather than being contracted by the FCO, remain employees of and paid for by the agency concerned. The FCO pays an hourly rate to the agency for the provision of the service which includes the agency's management fee, mandatory employers' contributions, and a remuneration element, but the FCO does not necessarily have sight of the breakdown detailing the exact remuneration element.

Departmental Public Expenditure

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1032W, on departmental public expenditure, how many overseas posts received overseas price mechanism uplifts in 2008-09; and how much uplift funding each such post received.

David Miliband: The following table highlights the posts that received an uplift in 2008-09. The exchange rate risk for posts in the Americas is managed by a devolved budget holder. The budget holder received a total 7.595 million uplift to maintain post budgets in 2008-09.
	
		
			   
			  Post  Uplift received in 2008-09 
			 Abu Dhabi 89,902 
			 Abuja 751,193 
			 Accra 477,031 
			 Addis Ababa 156,942 
			 Alexandria 21,500 
			 Algiers 228,904 
			 Amman 405,679 
			 Amsterdam 17,735 
			 Ankara 632,821 
			 Ashgabat 52,011 
			 Asmara 23,568 
			 Astana 146,233 
			 Athens 484,823 
			 Auckland 9,450 
			 Baghdad 261,830 
			 Bahrain 61,242 
			 Baku 304,787 
			 Bandar Seri Begawan 85,111 
			 Bangkok 390,981 
			 Banjul 81,620 
			 Basra 34,556 
			 Beijing 1,090,543 
			 Beirut 148,465 
			 Belgrade 443,620 
			 Berlin 817,569 
			 Berne 483,561 
			 Bordeaux 4,473 
			 Bratislava 165,814 
			 Brisbane 26,911 
			 Brussels 1,701,033 
			 Bucharest 170,041 
			 Budapest 375,523 
			 Cairo 297,047 
			 Canberra 363,543 
			 Capetown 25,497 
			 Chennai 16,993 
			 Chisinau 94,597 
			 Chongqing 219,847 
			 Colombo 409,930 
			 Copenhagen 462,913 
			 Dakar 84,857 
			 Damascus 105,441 
			 Dar es Salaam 121,414 
			 Dhaka 263,196 
			 Doha 248,162 
			 Dubai 467,320 
			 Dublin 441,892 
			 Dushanbe 63,304 
			 Dusseldorf 543,737 
			 Ekaterinburg 61,387 
			 Freetown 120,514 
			 Geneva 617,328 
			 Guangzhou 338,070 
			 Hanoi 94,017 
			 Harare 95,000 
			 Helsinki 293,429 
			 Ho Chi Minh City 74,672 
			 Hong Kong 184,135 
			 Honiara 13,830 
			 Islamabad 81,925 
			 Istanbul 243,005 
			 Istanbul 243,005 
			 Italian network 1,295,096 
			 Jakarta 189,011 
			 Jerusalem 312,782 
			 Jo'burg 39,368 
			 Kabul 818,168 
			 Kampala 121,968 
			 Karachi 6,442 
			 Kathmandu 10,172 
			 Khartoum 633,972 
			 Kiev 390,733 
			 Kigali 243,954 
			 Kinshasa 84,087 
			 Kolkata 8,202 
			 Kuala Lumpur 77,313 
			 Kuwait 319,527 
			 Lagos 1,576,786 
			 Lille 16,739 
			 Lilongwe 40,894 
			 Lisbon 333,442 
			 Ljubljana 130,968 
			 Luanda 163,161 
			 Lusaka 184,315 
			 Luxembourg 72,356 
			 Lyon 11,768 
			 Manila 191,687 
			 Maputo 131,839 
			 Marseille 405 
			 Melbourne 38,791 
			 Minsk 21,927 
			 Moscow 1,037,768 
			 Mumbai 42,389 
			 Munich 143,222 
			 Muscat 196,152 
			 Nairobi 742,066 
			 New Delhi 254,554 
			 Nicosia 347,358 
			 Osaka 411,217 
			 Oslo 137,382 
			 Paris 1,632,629 
			 Perth 17,905 
			 Phnom Penh 95,432 
			 Port Louis 92,495 
			 Port Moresby 23,919 
			 Prague 420,557 
			 Pretoria 169,078 
			 Pristina 141,918 
			 Rabat 214,806 
			 Rangoon 142,402 
			 Reykjavik -85,197 
			 Riga 159,620 
			 Riyadh 543,422 
			 Sana'a 192,750 
			 Sarajevo 143,148 
			 Shanghai 369,585 
			 Singapore 339,484 
			 Skopje 120,945 
			 Sofia 225,618 
			 Spain network 1,384,831 
			 St Petersburg 177,674 
			 Stockholm 281,444 
			 Strasbourg 9,158 
			 Suva 51,014 
			 Sydney 90,327 
			 Taipei 232,491 
			 Tallinn 158,157 
			 Tashkent 127,370 
			 Tbilisi 137,460 
			 Tehran 512,350 
			 Tel Aviv 523,376 
			 The Hague 332,616 
			 Tirana 76,686 
			 Tokyo 2,283,701 
			 Tripoli 302,539 
			 Tunis 124,977 
			 Ulaanbaatar 33,503 
			 Valletta 131,263 
			 Vienna 518,796 
			 Vilnius 158,877 
			 Warsaw 539,535 
			 Wellington 27,922 
			 Yaounde 85,956 
			 Yerevan 107,561 
			 Zagreb 175,617 
			 Sub Total 40,815,638 
			 + Americas 7,595,000 
			 Total 48,410,638

Departmental Training

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on staff training in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: During the 12 month period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent approximately 9.4 million centrally on learning and development including language training, core skills and specialist human resources training.
	The FCO also devolves training funds to overseas posts, geographical and thematic directorates. Information on these funds is not held centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Gambia: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions consular staff in the Gambia have visited David and Fiona Fulton in detention; and what consular services have been provided to David and Fiona Fulton.

Gillian Merron: I cannot comment on Mrs. Fiona Fulton as she has not given permission for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss her case with third parties. Consular staff have visited Mr. Fulton 13 times. We are monitoring this case closely and will continue to make regular visits. Our primary concern when British nationals are detained overseas is for their welfare. We have provided Mr. Fulton with support and information and liaised with the Gambian authorities as appropriate, and continue to keep his family updated on progress.

Government Hospitality Fund

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 511W, on the Government Hospitality Fund, how much the Government Hospitality unit of his Department's Protocol Directorate has spent on  (a) linen,  (b) china,  (c) silver and  (d) glassware in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: Government Hospitality (GH) recorded the following expenditure on items of linen, china, silver and glassware between 2004 and 2008:
	
		
			   
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Linen 0 0 2,455 824 560 
			 China 17,207 0 0 0 0 
			 Silver 700 520 1,406 514 1,202 
			 Glass 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	Most of the equipment held by GH is several decades old, and was purchased at the time of Her Majesty the Queen's accession to the throne. GH purchases replacement stock, for example purchase of china in 2004 to replace 50-year-old dinner plates, produced by Wedgewood as a special commission. GH also buys new stock items when required for one-off occasions, for example the G8 summit in 2005 at Gleneagles.

Israel: Nuclear Weapons

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether matters in respect of Israel's nuclear weapons capability and regional non-proliferation opportunities were discussed at his meeting with his Israeli counterpart on 13 May 2009 in London.

Caroline Flint: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary did not discuss these matters with Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman during their meeting on 13 May 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of the likely effect on the Middle East peace process of the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Corporal Shalit.

Caroline Flint: We judge that Corporal Shalit's release would prove to be a positive step for the Middle East Peace Process.
	The UK continues to call for the immediate, unconditional and safe release of Gilad Shalit. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this most recently in his statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009. We have also shown our support to Corporal Shalit's family by meeting his parents on several occasions.

Official Hospitality

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent on entertainment by each British  (a) Embassy,  (b) High Commission and  (c) Consulate in 2008.

Gillian Merron: The direct entertainment expenditure figure available for the financial year 2008 (April 2007 to March 2008) is 6,470,379.11.
	Our accounting reports do not allow us to separate the spend on entertainment into the categories requested and it would involve disproportionate cost to interrogate them further.
	This figure includes all items, for example catering and set up costs that are directly attributable to functions, events and receptions held at posts throughout the world and in the UK.

Somalia: Piracy

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on disrupting information networks used by Somali pirates.

Gillian Merron: Working Group 1 of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, which includes some EU member states, met for the second time on 7 and 8 May 2009 at the International Maritime Organisation. The Working Group, which is chaired by the UK, was attended by Interpol. In his conclusions, the Chair welcomed the engagement of Interpol with the work of the Contact Group and Interpol's willingness to engage with the military operations on information and intelligence sharing. Work in this area will continue.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that members of the armed forces in Sri Lanka have been involved in serious human rights abuses in recent weeks; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We are very concerned at the reports of human rights abuses linked to both sides of the conflict in Sri Lanka. It is very difficult to confirm these worrying reports, given the lack of access for independent monitors and the media. We take every opportunity to raise our concerns with the Sri Lankan Government and we have consistently called for full access by independent monitors. We have also called for an early investigation as to whether crimes have been committed against civilians.

USA: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the written material  (a) produced for and  (b) obtained by his Department at the Preparatory Committee meeting for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York; and which Ministers and officials attended that Conference.

Caroline Flint: This year's Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) achieved a great deal, including agreeing an agenda for the 2010 Review Conference by consensus for the first time in 15 years. It was attended by a broad UK delegation headed by John Duncan, Ambassador for Arms Control and Disarmament. The delegation included officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Ministry of Defence, Department of Energy and Climate Change and our mission to the Conference on Disarmament, as well as an academic adviser.
	Written documents agreed at the PrepCom are already in the public domain see:
	http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT2010Prepcom/PrepCom2009/index.html
	and the FCO does not intend to publish any internal documents which were written or obtained by our delegation. However, as promised in the Prime Minister's 17 March 2009 speech, we will publish a Road to 2010 plan this year.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to answer question 260887, tabled on 2 March 2009, on UK visas for sporting events.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 43-44W.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to answer question 261736, tabled on 4 March 2009, on UK visas for sporting events.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 542-43W.

HEALTH

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what records he holds on the medical conditions which created the need for abortions to be performed in emergency to save the life of the mother in those cases which have arisen in each year since 1986; and how many times each such condition has been the relevant factor.

Dawn Primarolo: In the 17 years between 1986 and 2002, there were 59 abortions performed under section 1(4) of the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, in an emergency to save the life of the pregnant woman. Numbers for each year between 2003 and 2007 were less than 10 (between nought and nine) and are suppressed, for confidentiality reasons, in line with the Office for National Statistics' guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics (2005). No further details about the specific medical conditions can be given as total figures are less than 10 (between nought and nine) in all cases.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Directorate in his Department has responsibility for the  (a) formulation and  (b) implementation of policy on (i) abortion, (ii) sexual and reproductive health and (iii) euthanasia and assisted dying; how many officials in his Department at each pay band are employed in this Directorate; what other posts in his Department each such official has held; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Directorate with responsibility for the formulation and implementation of policy on abortion, sexual and reproductive health and euthanasia and assisted dying is the Health Improvement and Protection Directorate. It is one of the biggest in the Department and covers a wide range of policy areas including: Health and Wellbeing, Pandemic Flu, International and Public Health, Immunisation, Emergency Preparedness, Health Promotion, Analytical Services and Health, Science and Bioethics.
	The whole time equivalent total of staff and their grade is:
	
		
			   Whole time equivalent 
			 Senior Civil Servant (3) 1 
			 Senior Civil Servant (2) 7 
			 Senior Civil Servant (1) 21 
			 Senior Civil Servant (Analyst) 1 
			 Grade 6 34 
			 Grade 7 55 
			 Fast Stream 10 
			 Senior Executive Officer 48 
			 Higher Executive Officer 36.50 
			 Executive Officer 41 
			 Administrative Officer 20 
		
	
	Information about the career histories of individuals working in the Health Improvement and Protection Division, or elsewhere in the Department, is not held centrally and it is not our practice for such information to be retained locally by a directorate. To establish this would incur disproportionate cost.

Aerotoxic Syndrome

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department is conducting research into the condition referred to as aerotoxic syndrome.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government's interest in issues to do with aerotoxicity rests primarily with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. The Department has not commissioned research on the topic.

Cancer: Alcoholic Drinks

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 102W, on cancer: alcoholic drinks, what statistical evidence his Department holds of a relationship between alcohol consumption and female breast cancer;
	(2)  what statistics his Department holds on links between alcohol use and different forms of cancer in  (a) men and  (b) women.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not maintain a library of the numerous academic publications on the health harms, including cancer, associated with alcohol consumption, however it is important to note that as part of the policy making process the Department seeks expert advice from relevant health experts.
	In addition to the scientific papers referenced in the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 102W, on cancer and alcoholic drinks, the Department holds copies of the following:
	Committee on Carcinogenicity (COC) analysis into the consumption of alcohol and breast cancer. This analysis was published by the COC in their 2004 annual report;
	Alcohol, tobacco and breast cancercollaborative reanalysis of individual data from 53 epidemiological studies, including 58,515 women with breast cancer and 95,067 women without the disease, by Hamajima N, et al and published in the British Journal of Cancer 87 (11): 1234-1245;
	Meta-analysis of Studies of Alcohol and Breast Cancer with Consideration of the Methodological Issues, by Key J, et al and published in Cancer Causes Control 17: 759-770; and
	Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions, Jones L et al., North West Public Health Observatory (2008). This reviews the relationships between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms and estimates the proportion of deaths and hospital admissions that are caused by alcohol, including cancer.

Dental Services: Hertfordshire

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the ratio of NHS dentists to residents in  (a) St. Albans and  (b) Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on national health service dentists per 100,000 of the population is available in Table G1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007-08 report. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements and is provided by primary care trust and strategic health authority covering the years ending 31 March, 2007 and 2008. This information is not available at constituency level.
	This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library. It is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0708

Dental Services: South Yorkshire

Eric Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of  (a) adults and  (b) children are registered with an NHS dentist in (i) Barnsley, (ii) Rotherham, (iii) Doncaster, (iv) South Yorkshire and (v) England.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a national health service dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to 'registration' is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services ('patients seen') over a 24-month period.
	Information on patients seen as a percentage of the population, in England, is available in table D6 and D8 of annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics, Quarter 2: 30 September 2008 report. Information is split for adults and children and is available at quarterly intervals, from 31 March 2006 to 30 September 2008. This is split by primary care trust and strategic health authority.
	This report has already been placed in the Library. It is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0809q2

Dental Services: South Yorkshire

Eric Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated for dentistry in  (a) Barnsley,  (b) Rotherham and  (c) Doncaster in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: The primary dental service funding allocations made to the Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) for the three years 2006-07 to 2008-09 are shown in the following table. These are net of income from dental charges paid by patients, which are retained locally to supplement the resources available for dentistry. Actual expenditure levels are determined by the pattern and type of services commissioned by each PCT. PCTs may also dedicate some of their other national health service resources to dentistry if they consider this an appropriate local priority.
	
		
			  Primary dental service net funding allocations for Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster PCTs 
			  000 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Barnsley 8,210 8,720 9,688 
			 Rotherham 7,361 7,838 8,787 
			 Doncaster 13,710 14,574 16,058 
			  Notes: 1. The allocation figure for 2006-07 for Doncaster is the aggregate of the allocations made initially to Doncaster Central, Doncaster East, and Doncaster West PCTs before they merged to form the Doncaster PCT, with effect from 1 October 2006. 2. PCTs are awarded separate funding allocations to meet the cost of any dental vocational trainees who may be placed with dental practices in their area.

Dental Services: South Yorkshire

Eric Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what allocation of orthodontic units of activity has been awarded to practitioners in  (a) Barnsley,  (b) Rotherham and  (c) Doncaster in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Health Education: Influenza

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many households he expects to receive informational material on swine influenza.

Dawn Primarolo: Distribution of the swine flu information leaflet to a total of 28,098,871 addresses in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland began on 5 May 2009.

Health Services: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps have been taken to improve  (a) heart healthcare,  (b) cancer healthcare,  (c) influenza prevention and  (d) mental healthcare for pensioners in Coventry.

Ann Keen: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs), in partnership with strategic health authorities and other stakeholders to commission health services for their local population, including vascular, cancer, influenza prevention, and mental health services.
	The Department recommends that all people aged 65 and over, and those under 65 years who are in specific clinical at-risk groups, receive the seasonal influenza vaccine. Carers who are in receipt of a carer's allowance or are the main carer for an elderly person are also recommended influenza vaccine. The uptake information for Coventry is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Influenza vaccine uptake 2008-09, Coventry Teaching PCT 
			   Percentage uptake 
			 Influenza vaccine uptake in people aged 65 and over 69.1 
			 Influenza vaccine uptake in people aged under 65 at-risk 46.9 
		
	
	Information for each PCT is contained in 'Influenza vaccine uptake among the 65 years and over and under 65 years at risk in England, Winter season 2008-09' which has been placed in the Library. This information covers those who received the vaccine as part of the national health service influenza programme.

Human Papilloma Virus: Vaccination

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the human papilloma virus vaccination campaign cut-off date was set in order to target those born before September 1990.

Dawn Primarolo: The ages of girls and young women eligible for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in the national health service vaccination programme are in accordance with the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI recommended a routine HPV vaccination programme for girls aged 12 to 13 years and a time-limited 'catch up' vaccination of girls aged 13 to under 18 years. The programme started in September 2008. The NHS is providing HPV vaccination to the first 'catch-up' cohort of young women aged 17 to 18, with birth dates between 1 September 1990 and 31 August 1991.
	The JCVI statement on 'Human papillomavirus vaccines to protect against cervical cancer' is published at
	www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/jcvi
	A copy has been placed in the Library.

Human Papilloma Virus: Vaccination

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on  (a) vaccinating students from overseas in all schools in England against the human papilloma virus and  (b) requiring contributions from such students towards the cost of such vaccinations.

Dawn Primarolo: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are obliged by directions to offer the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine free of charge to all girls aged 12 to 13 years who are registered with a general practitioner (GP) or resident in their area, including any such girls from overseas. Girls and young women of other eligible ages up to 18 years old, including female students from overseas, who are registered patients of a GP are also entitled to receive HPV vaccine free of charge. PCTs are responsible for delivering the HPV programme in their area.

Influenza

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to assist  (a) hospitals,  (b) GP practices and  (c) chemists in the event of a swine influenza pandemic.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has already provided a great deal of support to hospitals, practices and chemists in the form of guidance and on-going workshops to ensure that contingency and business continuity issues had been thought through in advance of a pandemic and addressed.
	Copies of the relevant guidance have been placed in the Library. Guidance for pharmacists is in the process of being finalised and will be placed in the Library as soon as it is published.
	We also supported the British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in producing guidance for general practitioner practices which is available on the BMA and RCGP website at:
	www.bma.org.uk/health_promotion_ethics/influenza/panfluguiddec08.jsp

Influenza

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to implement its national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic.

Dawn Primarolo: Since November 2007 (when the National Framework was published) the following key milestones have been delivered:
	stockpiles of antivirals to cover 50 per cent. of the population have been ordered and are now in place. Contracts have been signed for the development of the 'Flu Line' which will ensure rapid deployment of antivirals to patients. Orders have been placed to increase the United Kingdom antiviral stockpile from 33.5 million to about 50 million, which would be enough to cover 80 per cent. of the population;
	on 14 May the Government announced the signing of agreements with vaccine manufacturers for up to 90 million doses of a pre-pandemic vaccine based on the current H1N1 strain. The agreements could provide enough vaccine to protect the most vulnerable groups in our population before a pandemic is likely to arrive;
	we are on course to have sufficient antibiotic stocks to cover 31 per cent. of the United Kingdom population (19.6 million courses) by the end of September 2009, with the stockpile reaching over 10 per cent. (6.3 million courses) by the end of May 2009;
	we have placed orders for 226 million additional facemasks and 34 million additional respirators, to be delivered over time, for the use of frontline health and social care staff;
	significantly, enhanced local planning is in place. Every NHS trust and Local Resilience Forum in England has validated pandemic specific plans in place. All LRF plans are available in the public domain, and can be accessed on the internet at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience/pandemicflu/plans/regiona_plans.aspx
	a suite of guidance documents have been published to aid planners in their preparations for an influenza pandemic. Most notably guidance has been published on the management of excess deaths, school closures, the local response, the health response, infection control, the judicial system and a checklist to aid businesses in pandemic planning. These are available on the UK resilience website at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience/pandemicflu/guidance.aspx
	the Government launched its pandemic preparedness international strategy in November 2008. This strategy is the first of its kind and sets priorities for the UK Government's work with international organisations over the next three to five years. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Mental Health Services

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2009,  Official Report, column 467W, on health services, in respect of which elective mental health services patients have the right to choose the organisation that provides their treatment; and what account will be taken of advance statements in the provision of care for those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Phil Hope: The majority of patients, including those with mental health problems, are entitled to choose their provider when they are referred for their first consultant-led out-patient appointment. The right to choice does not extend beyond first out-patient appointment. Those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 are excluded from the right to choice, but the code of practice to the Act specifies that
	[Decision-makers] must consider the patient's views, wishes and feelings (whether expressed at the time or in advance), so far as they are reasonably ascertainable, and follow those wishes wherever practicable and consistent with the purpose of the decision.

Mentally Ill: Prisoners

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners diagnosed with a mental illness in  (a) Leeds and  (b) England in each of the last three years.

Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.

Nutrition: EU Action

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has put forward at EU level to minimise the cost to UK industry of implementation of the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), speaking on behalf of the United Kingdom, has made a number of proposals in relation to the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation aiming to achieve consumer protection through proportionate controls and help minimise the cost to UK industry. Highlights of these proposals include better definition of the scope of the regulation, focusing only on beneficial claims in a commercial context; a solution to dealing with trade marks that are also claims with effective transitional arrangements; elimination of disproportionate prohibitions of claims about general well-being, references to psychological and behavioural functions, slimming and weight control, recommendations by health charities and claims aimed at children.
	The UK argued for a process to reduce the burden of authorisation of health claims already on the market, and for new claims pushed the European Commission to meet its duty to make available technical guidance and tools to assist small and medium sized businesses in the preparation and presentation of applications for assessment of health claims by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). More recently, the UK proposed better transparency of EFSA's scientific assessment of health claims and secured a commitment from the Commission to improve access to the procedure.
	Guidance to interpretation of the regulation from the Commission has helped industry understand how to apply some of the more ambiguous areas of the regulation and this grew from the FSA's own detailed guidance to compliance, which is used widely across the European Union.
	We have also been successful in achieving appropriate transition periods to allow industry to adapt to the new regulations and we continue to champion better regulation as unforeseen issues arise during the implementation of this complex measure.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the savings which have accrued from the implementation of the new capacity improvement programme prescribing system since its introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: Current planning indicates that the National Health Service Business Services Authority's (NHSBSA) prescription processing service will deliver savings in financial year 2009-10 of 16 million compared with the cost of processing prescriptions using the previous system. Over the three financial years 2007-08 to 2009-10 the NHSBSA will accrue aggregate savings in operating costs of 25.8 million as a result of implementing the capacity improvement programme, based on 2006-07 operational cost.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were employed by the Prescription Pricing Division in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2008.

Dawn Primarolo: The total number of people employed by the former Prescription Pricing Authority on 1 April 2005 was 2,782 and by the National Health Service Business Services Authority's Prescription Pricing Division on 31 March 2008 was 2,492. This decrease partly reflects the incorporation of the former Prescription Pricing Authority into the NHS Business Services Authority during this period.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many compulsory redundancies have been made within the Prescription Pricing Division consequent upon the implementation of the new capacity improvement programme prescribing system.

Dawn Primarolo: Redundancies that occurred as a result of the implementation of the capacity improvement programme did not impact until after March 2008. Since then, there have been 686 redundancies resulting from the implementation of the capacity improvement programme. It is not possible to provide a precise figure on the number of redundancies defined as 'compulsory' because of the complex criteria agreed for achieving the reduction.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff have been recruited by the Prescription Pricing Division to implement the new capacity improvement programme prescribing system. [R]

Dawn Primarolo: Around 40 information technology specialists were recruited to assist with the development and implementation of the new capacity improvement programme prescription processing system.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the new capacity improvement programme prescribing system for the Prescription Pricing Division to be fully operational. [R]

Dawn Primarolo: Over 90 per cent. of the prescription processing workload, was processed on the national health service business services authority's new capacity improvement programme processing system from November 2008. There are plans for prescriptions dispensed by dispensing doctors and prescriptions personally administered by doctors to be processed on the new system from July 2009. Additionally, there are plans for appliance contractors' dispensing to be processed on the new system from April 2010. In aggregate, this represents approximately 99.5 per cent. of prescription processing work.

Rehabilitation: Lincolnshire

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding is being provided to the Middlegate detoxing and residential rehabilitation unit in Lincolnshire in 2009-10.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	Places at Middlegate Lodge and other young people's substance misuse residential treatment facilities are primarily commissioned and funded by local authorities.
	Government are providing 24.7 million to local authorities in 2009-10 to support such drug and alcohol treatment through the Pooled Treatment Budget and this is matched by additional funds from the area based grant according to local need.

Social Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's Green Paper on the future of adult social care.

Phil Hope: The Government announced in the Budget report that the Green Paper on care and support reform will be published in June 2009.

Swine Flu

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what quantities of pathogen-inactivated, a1H1N1-free blood products are held in the UK; whether his Department plans to adopt pathogen inactivation for all blood products for civilian and military use if the World Health Organisation designates the a1H1N1 outbreak a pandemic; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his Department's plans are to ensure protection against the H1N1 strain of influenza type A; if he will take steps to ensure that UK blood stocks are H1N1-free; if his Department will fast-track consideration of pathogen inactivation for blood products by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the written answers I gave the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell) and the hon. Member for Brighton Kemptown (Dr. Turner) on 15 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1084W.

Tranquillisers

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues on the safe half-life of a drug intended for use as a sleeping tablet; what the half-life of nitrazepam is; and how many nitrazepam prescription items were dispensed in 2008.

Dawn Primarolo: Nitrazepam belongs to the class of medicines known as benzodiazepines. It is licensed for the short-term treatment of severe insomnia which is considered to be disabling or subjecting the individual to unacceptable distress, where daytime sedation is acceptable.
	Nitrazepam acts in 30 to 60 minutes to produce sleep lasting six to eight hours. The half-life is, on average, 24 hours but depending on the individual can range from 16 to 38 hours. As a result nitrazepam has a prolonged action and may give rise to residual effects the following day, and repeated doses tend to be cumulative. Shorter acting agents are therefore preferable for the majority of patients requiring treatment for insomnia.
	The half-life of a drug intended for use as a sleeping tablet is only one of many factors that influences the safe use of a medicine. Information to aid the safe use of nitrapezam is provided in the product information which consists of the Summary of Product Characteristics for healthcare professionals and the Patient Information Leaflet. These are available on the internet at
	www.medicines.org.uk/
	Additional prescribing advice is provided in the British National Formulary, which is sent to all doctors within the national health service.
	Guidance on the safe use of benzodiazepines has been issued by the Department on a number of occasions; the focus of this advice has been on the need for restriction of use to short-term only. In the case of nitrazepam the recommended treatment period varies from a few days to two weeks with a maximum of four weeks including the tapering off process.
	Based on information obtained from the Prescription Cost Analysis database it has been estimated that 1,172,799 prescription items of nitrazepam were dispensed in the community in England during 2008. This figure does not include items which may have been dispensed within a hospital setting.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Departmental Manpower

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many staff his Department shares with the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Si�n Simon: 13 members of staff work in the Joint Apprenticeships Unit which reports to both DIUS and DCSF. They are employed by DIUS on DIUS terms and conditions.
	Since DIUS was established, the DCSF has also provided some services under a shared agreement.

Departmental Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent on IT training for its staff in each year since its creation.

Si�n Simon: The information is not available in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Work Experience

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many work placements his Department offered to  (a) school pupils,  (b) university students and  (c) graduates in each year since its creation.

Si�n Simon: The information is stated in the following table.
	
		
			   School pupils  University students and graduates 
			 2007 4 4 
			 2008 5 5 
		
	
	The Department is currently in the process of planning its own work experience programme for 2009.

Education: Statistics

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what data on education and skills his Department collects at lower layer super output area level.

Si�n Simon: DIUS collects a variety of information which in theory is capable of being analysed at lower layer super output area (SOA) as it includes the postcode of the business, provider or learner (see Table 1). In many cases, however, the data is not suitable for analysis, or not routinely made available, at this geographic level.
	Lower layer SOA is generally only used as a building block to aggregate data to higher level geographies. Very few datasets allow for meaningful analysis to be produced by lower layer SOA (there are over 32,000 lower layer SOAs in England). Even where this is possible, significant work may be involved in establishing a suitable method for presentation and in resolving other statistical issues such as avoiding disclosure. Therefore, data may not be fit for purpose at lower layer SOA under National Statistics protocols.
	Table 1 provides details of education and skills data collected by, or on behalf of, the Department which includes information by postcode of business, provider or learner. It also provides information on the level of geography which is currently released.
	
		
			  Table 1: Data used by DIUS which could in theory be analysed at lower layer super output area 
			  Data  Collected by  Geographies available 
			 UK Innovation Survey ONS on behalf of DIUS Not published below regional level although independent analysts have derived various sub-regional geographies. 
			 Individualised Learner Record (Further Education, Work Based Learning, Train to Gain learner information) Data Service Published by parliamentary constituency, local authority, region, England. 
			 Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record HESA Published by parliamentary constituency, local authority, region, England, UK. Can produce data on Lower and Middle Layer SOAs. This is not generally published although the HESA Information Provision Service can provide this to customers on request. 
			 Student Support Applications from Student Loans Company (SLC) data SLC Generally published for England. Some local authority figures can be produced. 
			 Applicants to full-time undergraduate HE courses Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Published by parliamentary constituency, local authority, region, England, UK. UCAS has provided SOA level information to organisations (e.g. local authorities) on request and some of those have published reports based on the information.

JUSTICE

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are in place to verify addresses given by recipients of penalty notices for disorder.

Jack Straw: The Government issue operational guidance on the issuing of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) to police forces under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. This guidance sets out the criteria which should be considered by police officers before issuing PNDs and includes a section on identification, making it clear that a PND may be issued only where sufficient evidence of place of residence exists. The guidance says:
	Accurate identification of suspects and their place of residence are... critical to the effectiveness of the [PND] scheme... address checks must be rigorous (emphasis in original).

Children: Abuse

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged 21 years and over with a previous conviction have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted for offences relating to child abuse in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  N umber of offenders aged 21 and over convicted for offences relating to child abuse England and Wales, and the number with previous convictions, 2000 to 2007( 1,2,3) 
			  Number of convictions 
			Of which: 
			   Convictions for offences relating to child abuse( 1,2,3)  Number of convictions where the offender had one or more previous convictions for offences of any kind 
			 2000 617 362 
			 2001 554 306 
			 2002 616 340 
			 2003 701 383 
			 2004 808 437 
			 2005 1,012 536 
			 2006 1,143 628 
			 2007 1,175 639 
			 (1) Figures are counts of primary offences only. (2) An offender convicted on several occasions will appear in the table more than once. (3) Includes cruelty or neglect of a child; abandoning a child under two years; rape or sexual assault of a child or sexual activity involving a child, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (which came into effect on 1 May 2004); causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person (introduced on 21 March 2005). 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer (PNC), which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police. PNC data has been used here rather than court proceedings data, which is the usual source of published conviction statistics, as the PNC provides information on the criminal history of offenders. Figures before 2000 have not been provided as the extract of PNC data held by the Ministry of Justice is incomplete before that date.
	Equivalent figures for offenders who have been prosecuted are not available.

Children: Abuse

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of those aged 21 years or over convicted of offences relating to child abuse received  (a) immediate custody,  (b) a suspended sentence,  (c) a community sentence,  (d) a fine,  (e) a conditional or absolute discharge and  (f) other treatment in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: The requested information is shown in the table, the proportion of those given various disposals is shown as a percentage of those sentenced. Lags in time between conviction and sentencing may mean that the total numbers convicted and sentenced in a year may not match. Data held by the Ministry of Justice record the age of the offender at the time of sentencing, the figures show all offenders aged over 21 and over at that point.
	There is no specific offence of 'child abuse'. The term 'child abuse' describes harm caused to a child arising from emotional, physical and sexual abuse or neglect caused by a parent or carer.
	The statistics provided in this answer are for those offences currently identified as such, including causing or allowing the death of a child, sexual assaults against under 16s, and cruelty or neglect of a child. Not included are other forms of abuse for which there is no separate legal category, offences where the victim cannot be identified as a child from the type of offence, and cases of abuse which cannot be identified because they were proceeded against under more general offences such as physical assault.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Percentage( 1)  of offenders sentenced to disposals for child abuse, 1997 to 2007 
			1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Abandoning child under 2 years Absolute or conditional Discharge  50.0  
			 Offences against the Person Act 1861 Sec 27 Fine
			  Community sentence 100.0100.0 50.0  
			  Suspended Sentence
			  Immediate custody  100.0 100.0 
			  Otherwise dealt with
			  Total number sentenced 1 1   1  1   2  
			  
			 Abuse of a position of trust: Sexual activity with children(2) Absolute or conditional Discharge 7.1   
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S16(1ei,2-5). S16(1eii,2-5), S17(1ei,2-5). S18(1fi,2-5), S19(1ei,2-5), S17(1eii,2-5) Fine
			  Community sentence40.0 14.3 31.3 26.7 
			  Suspended Sentence 14.3 12.5 20.0 
			  Immediate custody60.0 64.3 56.3 53.3 
			  Otherwise dealt with
			  Total number sentenced5 14 16 15 
			  
			 Causing or allowing death of a child or vulnerable person Absolute or conditional Discharge
			 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 S.5 Fine
			  Community sentence
			  Suspended Sentence
			  Immediate custody  100.0 100.0 
			  Otherwise dealt with  0.0 0.0 
			  Total number sentenced  2 6 
			  
			 Cruelty or neglect of children Absolute or conditional Discharge 16.0 14.4 10.0 13.2 9.6 10.6 13.4 12.1 11.3 11.0 8.6 
			 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 Sec 1 Fine 1.7 1.1 2.0 0.5 1.6 0.5 1.5 2.1 1.8 1.1 1.6 
			  Community sentence 45.7 52.1 54.1 51.4 53.1 53.1 53.9 55.3 53.0 45.6 40.0 
			  Suspended Sentence 5.4 3.4 5.9 5.3 4.3 5.5 3.7 4.9 10.6 17.1 30.1 
			  Immediate custody 30.0 28.9 27.0 28.8 30.4 30.0 27.4 25.3 22.8 24.3 18.8 
			  Otherwise dealt with 1.1 0.0 0.9 0.7 1.1 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.5 0.9 0.9 
			  Total number sentenced 350 353 440 416 375 397 456 486 434 445 432 
			  
			 Rape of a female under 13 by a male(2) Absolute or conditional Discharge
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.5 Fine
			  Community sentence  3.9 3.6 
			  Suspended Sentence 3.1  3.6 
			  Immediate custody100.0 93.8 96.1 92.7 
			  Otherwise dealt with 3.1   
			  Total number sentenced3 32 51 55 
			  
			 Rape of a female under 16 Absolute or conditional Discharge0.4
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 also Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.1 Fine0.5
			  Community sentence 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5  1.0  0.4 1.0  0.9 
			  Suspended Sentence   0.4 
			  Immediate custody 98.8 99.0 99.5 98.4 99.4 99.0 99.1 98.8 98.1 99.5 98.2 
			  Otherwise dealt with 0.6 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.6 0.0 0.4 0.4 1.0 0.5 0.9 
			  Total number sentenced 162 199 219 186 160 196 225 252 206 191 217 
			  
			 Rape of a male under 13 by a male(2) Absolute or conditional Discharge
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 Fine
			  Community sentence  18.2 9.1 
			  Suspended Sentence
			  Immediate custody 100.0 72.7 90.9 
			  Otherwise dealt with 0.0 9.1  
			  Total number sentenced 3 11 11 
			  
			 Rape of a male under 16 Absolute or conditional Discharge
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 also Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.1 Fine
			  Community sentence
			  Suspended Sentence
			  Immediate custody 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 95.5 100.0 100.0 100.0 94.7 
			  Otherwise dealt with   4.55.3 
			  Total number sentenced 15 12 20 13 17 25 22 20 20 11 19 
			  
			 Sexual activity involving a child(2) Absolute or conditional Discharge 2.9 0.7 1.3 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.8(1)(2)(1)(3), S.10(1a,b,ci)(3), S.9(1a,b,cii)(2), S.9(1a,b,cii)(3), S. l0(1a,b,c(ii)) (2), S.10 (1a,b,c(ii))(3) Fine 1.0   
			  Community sentence47.4 37.5 20.5 22.3 
			  Suspended Sentence0.0 3.8 7.5 7.0 
			  Immediate custody52.6 54.8 68.5 68.2 
			  Otherwise dealt with  2.7 1.3 
			  Total number sentenced19 104 146 157 
			  
			 Sexual assault of a female child under 13(2) Absolute or conditional Discharge5.6 0.8  2.1 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.7 Fine
			  Community sentence33.3 33.6 20.4 16.5 
			  Suspended Sentence11.1 2.5 8.8 11.7 
			  Immediate custody44.4 62.3 66.3 69.1 
			  Otherwise dealt with5.6 0.8 4.4 0.5 
			  Total number sentenced18 122 181 188 
			 (1 )The figures used are shown as a percentage of those sentenced. Lags in time between sentencing and conviction may mean the numbers sentenced and convicted in a year may not match. (2) These were enacted as distinct offences by the Sexual Offences Act 2003.  Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. 2. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much Francis Plowden will be remunerated for leading the review of the effect of court fees in child protection.

Jack Straw: Francis Plowden's remuneration is likely to be approximately 40,000, depending on the total number of days work needed to complete the review.

Convictions: Somalis

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of criminal convictions were handed down to Somali nationals in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Information collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include nationality of the defendant.

Departmental Assets

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when his Department last reviewed its assets and land and property holdings with a view to identifying and disposing of surpluses.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice reviews its assets both regularly throughout the year and annually as part of its year end closure. For the year 2008-09 the annual review was completed in early April 2009. The review was not undertaken specifically for the purpose of identifying disposals, but informs the Department's approach to asset management and disposal.

Family Proceedings: Legal Aid

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what impact assessment his Department undertook before taking the decision to reduce the family legal aid budget; and what the outcomes of that assessment were;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects on the Department for Children, Schools and Families' long-term expenditure commitments of his Department's decision to reduce the budget for family legal aid;
	(3)  what discussions he had with Treasury Ministers before the decision was taken to reduce the family legal aid budget.

Bridget Prentice: We have not reduced the family legal aid budget. The cost of family legal aid increased by 46 per cent. from 399 million in 2001-02 to 582 million in 2007-08, while the number of funding certificates fell by 11 per cent., from 129,000 to 115,000 over the same period. We clearly stated our intention to make reforms to family fees in 'Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead', published in November 2006, following Lord Carter's review of legal aid procurement. The 'Way Ahead' proposals were subject to Cabinet committee clearance and were integral to MOJ's spending review settlement.
	My noble Friend Lord Bach announced changes to the Family Graduated Fee Scheme for barristers in February, following a 30 per cent. rise in costs in just five years. The consultation response included a full impact assessment. More recently, the consultation, 'Family Legal Aid Funding from 2010', published by my Department and the Legal Services Commission, closed on 3 April 2009. The Legal Services Commission is currently analysing the responses. The consultation covers two payment schemes, the 'Private Family Law Representation Scheme', and the 'Family Advocacy Scheme', which will cover representation by solicitors and counsel in independent practice. This consultation document included a draft impact assessment.
	Our aim is to help as many people as possible within existing resources. In both cases the impact assessments have demonstrated that failing to address the significant increases in fees paid in recent years could risk leading to reductions in services for clients.

Land Registry: Fraud

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many convictions there have been for offences of property title theft in respect of  (a) mortgaged,  (b) non-mortgaged and  (c) vacant properties in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many convictions there have been for offences of fraud in relation to property leases in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many convictions for offences of property transfer fraud there have been in each of the last 10 years;
	(4)  how many convictions for offences of mortgage fraud there have been in each of the last 10 years;
	(5)  how many convictions for offences related to property fraud there were in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for 'obtaining a property by deception' in England and Wales, for the years 1998 to 2007 is shown in the following table.
	The Fraud Act 2006 which was implemented in January 2007 repealed eight sections of the Theft Acts 1968-1996, including section 15 of the Theft Act 1968, Obtaining property by deception.
	The statistics provided in this answer are for fraud offences where either the statute or the offence description identifies the fraud as solely relating to either 'property fraud' or 'mortgage fraud'. A number of other fraud offences may include 'property or mortgage fraud', but as the individual circumstances of the offence are not held on the court proceedings database maintained by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, it is not possible to separately identify them.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences under the Theft Act 1968 Section 15, in England and Wales, 1998 to 2007( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Statute  Offence description  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 3) 
			 Theft Act 1968 Sec 15. Obtaining property by deception 11,438 11,478 10,430 9,438 9,354 8,457 7,519 6,472 5,080 2,470 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. (3) However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The Fraud Act 2006 repealed S15 of the Theft Act 1968 and was implemented in January 2007. (4) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates' courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.  Source: OCJRE and A: Office for Criminal Justice ReformEvidence and Analysis Unit. Our ref: PQ 275156, 275157, 275161, 275162, and 275168 (Table)

National Offender Management Information System

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Minister authorised the appointment of each Senior Responsible Owner of the C-NOMIS project.

Jack Straw: Ministers are not normally involved in the appointment of Senior Responsible Owners and this was the case in regards to the C-NOMIS Project and its successor, the NOMIS Programme.

Negligence: NHS

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  in how many legally-aided clinical negligence claims cases the Legal Services Commission was unable to reclaim costs from the NHS Litigation Authority in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many legally-aided clinical negligence claims in 2008 related to incidents in each of the previous 10 years;
	(3)  in how many clinical negligence claims the claimant received legal aid in the last year for which information is available.

Jack Straw: The Legal Services Commission's case management system, does not record defence organisations. A manual examination of all clinical negligence case files closed in the last 12 months might not identify the NHS Litigation Authority in every instance, and such an exercise could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
	In 2007-08, 1,926 certificates were issued to take proceedings in clinical negligence cases and 65 per cent. resulted in a substantive benefit to the client with costs recovered. The remaining 2,714 cases were funded up to an investigation stage, without proceedings being issued.
	The Legal Services Commission's case management system does not record the date(s) on which an incident took place in clinical negligence cases. A manual examination of all case files closed in 2008 might not reveal the date(s) on which the incident took place in every instance, and such an examination could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
	3,883 claims for clinical negligence received legal aid funding in the financial year 2008-09.

Offences Against Children: Sentencing

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders aged 21 years or over received  (a) immediate custody,  (b) a suspended sentence  (c) a community sentence,  (d) a fine,  (e) a conditional or absolute discharge and  (f) other treatment for rape or attempted rape of a child under the age of 13 years in each year since 2004.

Jack Straw: The available information is shown in the following table.
	Figures for year 2008 will be available in autumn 2009.
	Data provided relate to offences of rape and attempted rape of a child less than 13 years of age under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.5 which commenced for offences committed from 1 May 2004 and replaced what was called prior to that unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13.
	Records on offences of rape and attempted rape committed before the new provision came into force do not identify separately children under 13 years from those aged under 16 and therefore they are not included. The increased numbers over the years reflect the transition to the new legislation. As data held by the Ministry of Justice record the age of the offender at the time of sentencing, the figures show all offenders aged over 21 and over at that point.
	
		
			  Number of offenders aged 21 years and over sentenced for rape( 1)  or attempted rape( 2)  of a child under the age of 13 years ,by type of sentence in England and Wales, 2004-07 
			  Type of sentence  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Conditional or Absolute discharge 
			 Fine 
			 Community sentence   4 4 
			 Suspended sentence(3)  1  2 
			 Immediate custody 3 35 59 63 
			 Otherwise dealt with  1 1  
			  
			 Total 3 37 64 69 
			 (1,2) offences under Sexual offences Act 2003 s.5 which came into force on 1 May 2004: Rape of a female child under 13 by a male. Rape of a male child under 13 by a male. Attempted rape of a female child under 13 by a male. Attempted rape of a male child under 13 by a male. (3) Introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 came into force on 4 April 2005 and replaced the previous fully suspended sentence. It applies only to persons aged 18 and over.  Notes: The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Prison Accommodation

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to provide additional prison capacity if his proposed new prisons do not obtain planning permission.

Jack Straw: As is normal, we would consider the options available to us in the event we are unable to obtain planning permission for the new prisons.

Prison Accommodation

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in England were held in cells shared with two or more other inmates in 2008.

David Hanson: On Friday 27 June 2008 2,676 prisoners out of 83,243 were recorded as sharing any accommodation such as cells, rooms, wards and dormitories with two or more people in prisons in England.
	The data available does not allow for a breakdown of prisoners sharing by individual accommodation types.
	Data on HMP/YOI Ashfield is not held centrally and therefore information relating to this establishment is not included in these figures.

Male Prisoners

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many male prisoners were recategorised as a result of Prison Service Instruction 2008-007.

Jack Straw: The information requested is not recorded centrally. To provide this would require the manual examination of individual prisoner records which could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Dagenham

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what plans there are for providing emergency service access to the proposed prison at Beam Park West;
	(2)  how many prison service vehicles will require access to the Beam Park West site on a daily basis.

Jack Straw: Emergency service access to the proposed prison at Beam Park West will be considered during the design process.
	This prison would be a closed prison, holding category B or C prisoners. It is not intended that it should hold any category A (high security) prisoners, nor category D prisoners (low security, open prison). However, no decisions have yet been made on the function of the proposed prison. We are therefore currently unable to estimate how many HMPS vehicles will require access to the site each day.
	Prior to the submission of planning permission, a public exhibition will be held detailing the proposals.

Remand Centres

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which premises in each primary care trust area have been approved for holding those on remand.

David Hanson: The following table shows those prisons in England and Wales that hold prisoners on remand and their corresponding Primary Care Trusts and in Wales their Local Health Boards.
	
		
			  Prison with Remand Function  PCT/Local Health Board 
			 Altcourse Liverpool PCT 
			 Ashfield South Gloucestershire PCT 
			 Bedford Bedfordshire PCT 
			 Belmarsh Greenwich Teaching PCT 
			 Birmingham Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 
			 Brinsford South Staffordshire PCT 
			 Bristol Bristol PCT 
			 Brixton Lambeth PCT 
			 Bronzefield Surrey PCT 
			 Bullingdon Oxfordshire PCT 
			 Cardiff Cardiff Local Health Board 
			 Castington Northumberland Care Trust 
			 Chelmsford Mid Essex PCT 
			 Cookham Wood Medway PCT 
			 Doncaster Doncaster PCT 
			 Dorchester Dorset PCT 
			 Downview Surrey PCT 
			 Durham County Durham PCT 
			 Eastwood Park South Gloucestershire PCT 
			 Elmley Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 
			 Exeter Devon PCT 
			 Feltham Hounslow PCT 
			 Forest Bank Salford PCT 
			 Foston Hall Derbyshire County PCT 
			 Glen Parva Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 
			 Gloucester Gloucestershire PCT 
			 Hewell Worcestershire PCT 
			 Highdown Surrey PCT 
			 Hindley Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 
			 Holloway Islington PCT 
			 Holme House Stockton-on-Tees Teaching PCT 
			 Hull Hull Teaching PCT 
			 Lancaster Farms North Lancashire Teaching PCT 
			 Leeds Leeds PCT 
			 Leicester Leicester City PCT 
			 Lewes East Sussex, Downs and Weald PCT 
			 Lincoln Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 
			 Liverpool Liverpool PCT 
			 Long Lartin Worcestershire PCT 
			 Low Newton County Durham PCT 
			 Manchester Manchester PCT 
			 New Hall Wakefield District PCT 
			 Norwich Norfolk PCT 
			 Nottingham Nottingham City PCT 
			 Parc Bridgend Local Health Board 
			 Parkhurst Isle of Wight NHS PCT 
			 Pentonville Islington PCT 
			 Peterborough Peterborough PCT 
			 Preston Central Lancashire PCT 
			 Reading Berkshire West PCT 
			 Shrewsbury Shropshire County PCT 
			 Stoke Heath Shropshire County PCT 
			 Styal Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 
			 Swansea Swansea Local Health Board 
			 Wakefield Wakefield District PCT 
			 Wandsworth Wandsworth PCT 
			 Warren Hill Suffolk PCT 
			 Wetherby Leeds PCT 
			 Winchester Hampshire PCT 
			 Woodhill Milton Keynes PCT 
			 Wormwood Scrubs Hammersmith and Fulham PCT

Stannary Law

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1673, on politics and government: South West region, whether any parts of Stannary Law still exist as part of the law of England and Wales.

Michael Wills: The body of Stannary customary law has not been systematically repealed. It is likely however that such customary law has been superseded by modern legislation. There were also provisions in 19th century primary legislation relating to the stannaries, but these have largely been repealed.

Voting Methods

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with  (a) the European Commission and  (b) his European counterparts in other EU member states on voting methods for Parliamentary and local government elections in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: Neither the Secretary of State nor I have held any discussions with either the European Commission or our counterparts in other EU member states on methods of voting for parliamentary and local government elections in the UK.

Young Offenders

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of those aged under 18 years were sentenced for  (a) drug offences and  (b) criminal damage in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: The information requested is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Offenders aged under 18 sentenced for drug offences or criminal damage at all courts, 1997  to  2007 
			   Offence type 
			   Criminal damage  Drug offences 
			 1997 2,255 1,845 
			 1998 2,290 2,748 
			 1999 2,682 3,107 
			 2000 2,576 3,739 
			 2001 2,897 4,342 
			 2002 2,908 4,958 
			 2003 2,946 5,144 
			 2004 3,234 4,479 
			 2005 3,274 4,626 
			 2006 3,678 4,460 
			 2007 3,623 5,263 
			  Notes: 1. These data are based on the principle offence. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principle offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed; where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principle offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. 3. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	Data held by the Ministry of Justice record the age of the offender at the point of sentencing the answer given shows all those aged under 18 at that point.

Young Offenders: Crime Prevention

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Youth Justice Board allocated to preventive programmes in each year since 1999.

Jack Straw: Information from the Youth Justice Board shows that they allocated the following sums for programmes working to prevent offending and antisocial behaviour by young people.
	
		
			million 
			 1999-2000 1 
			 2000-01 6 
			 2001-02 8 
			 2002-03 18 
			 2003-04 10 
			 2004-05 10 
			 2005-06 13 
			 2006-07 26 
			 2007-08 38 
			 2008-09 36 
			  Note: Figures are all rounded to the nearest million pounds 
		
	
	These programmes include Youth Inclusion and Support Panels, Youth Inclusion Programmes, Safer Schools Partnerships, Splash Cymru, work to prevent antisocial behaviour (including Individual Support Order interventions) and parenting provision.
	The figures do not include funding for the Youth Justice Board programmes for reducing reoffending such as the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance programme and Intensive Fostering.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Databases

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the data fields on the ContactPoint database are; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The data fields in ContactPoint contain information supplied by each data source. The data sources are listed in schedules 4 and 5 of the ContactPoint regulations and section 12(9) of the Children Act 2004. Some fields can hold multiple entries; for example where two addresses are known. Every ContactPoint record is made up of the information from each supplying source. The data fields listed here are collected from these data sources.
	 Demographic information
	Child Name/Gender/Date of birth/Address
	Parent/Carer name and contact details
	 Universal services
	Contact details for General Practitioner/school or other educational setting/midwife (if any)/health visitor (if any)/school nurse (if any)
	 Additional (Targeted / Specialist) services
	Name and contact details
	Contact details for the lead professional (if any)
	Contact details of the practitioner who has completed the most recent assessment under the Common Assessment Framework (if any).

Citizenship: Education

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of training for teachers on the teaching of citizenship in the last three years;
	(2)  whether any recent assessment has been made of the consistency of the standard of citizenship education in schools;
	(3)  what steps have been taken to improve the teaching of citizenship in secondary schools following the finding by Ofsted in September 2006 that one in four secondary schools failed to offer pupils adequate citizenship teaching;
	(4)  what recent assessment he has made of the quality of teaching of citizenship in schools; and what steps he is taking to improve the standard of such teaching;
	(5)  what steps his Department has taken in response to the finding in the February 2005 Ofsted Report, Citizenship in Secondary Schools: Evidence from Ofsted Inspections that the provision of citizenship education was unsatisfactory in one in four schools.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government are committed to providing high quality training for teachers of citizenship.
	In 2006, we introduced a nationally funded programme of continuing professional development for teachers, including a 'Certificate in the Teaching of Citizenship', which is available to all citizenship teachers.
	The certificate is designed to help serving teachers improve their knowledge, skills and understanding of the citizenship curriculum Ofsted has recently evaluated the national CPD programme. Its report, published in February 2009 commented on the high quality of the training, but noted a shortfall in recruitment. We have appointed the university of Plymouth, a specialist provider of Citizenship education, to develop and promote improved take up of the programme better to meet the needs of teachers and schools.
	Ofsted's next report on Citizenship as a subject is due to be published in the autumn.
	A three-year package of support for the effective implementation of the new secondary curriculum, including Citizenship, has been made available to all secondary schools from September 2008.
	The Training and Development Agency TDA has designed a Self-Evaluation for providers of initial teacher training (ITT) courses. Information from providers' self-evaluation, including those offering the Citizenship postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), is used to inform Ofsted inspections.
	13 Higher Education Institutions provide secondary Citizenship ITT. 11 of these have been categorised as good or very good by Ofsted.

Citizenship: Education

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what training is available for  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teachers on the teaching of citizenship;
	(2)  what plans he has to encourage the recruitment of specialist trained citizenship teachers by secondary schools;
	(3)  what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on  (a) the recruitment of specialist trained citizenship teachers by secondary schools and  (b) specialist training for secondary school teachers in the teaching of citizenship.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Since the introduction of citizenship education in 2002, over 800 teachers have completed initial teacher training courses to become specialist citizenship teachers. We have maintained the number of places available for citizenship secondary initial teacher training, for 2009/10 academic year, despite the decline in the number of pupils in schools. In primary initial teacher training, Citizenship is addressed as part of the full spectrum of the primary curriculum. The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) also supports the quality of Citizenship ITT by providing access to specialist subject knowledge for ITT tutors, mentors and trainees.
	The Department has funded, since 2006, the national Citizenship continuing professional development (CPD) programme designed to help teachers deepen and broaden their knowledge and confidence in delivering the citizenship curriculum effectively.
	The TDA is also supporting the continuing professional development of citizenship teachers by enabling them to identify appropriate training and development. They are currently piloting a CPD databasedesigned to be a first port of call for anyone looking for CPD opportunities, from teachers and support staff to those who search for CPD on their behalf, such as CPD leaders and local authority coordinators.
	The Department does not provide guidance on the recruitment or training of Citizenship teachers.

Citizenship: Education

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps have been taken to ensure effective teaching of the Identity and Diversity: Living Together in the UK strand of citizenship education in all secondary schools.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We have strengthened citizenship education to ensure that young people explore their own identity and issues around diversity. Schools are encouraged to embed citizenship across the school and to integrate themes such as cultural diversity in all subjects. A three-year package of support for the effective implementation of the new secondary curriculum, including the new Identity and Diversity strand of the Citizenship curriculum, has been made available to all secondary schools from September 2008.
	Last year, the Department supported a project to develop identity and diversity resources for schools to help them to develop this aspect of the curriculum by taking part in Who Do We Think We Are week. The week, which took place in June 2008, encouraged schools to help their pupils to explore shared values and what it means for different religions, cultures and ethnicities to live together in an inclusive British society. Around 500 schools across the country took part in the project and we are encouraging all schools, to participate in the Who Do We Think We Are week in June 2009.

Citizenship: Education

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what guidance his Department provides to maintained faith schools on the teaching of citizenship;
	(2)  what proportion of maintained faith schools teach citizenship.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Citizenship is part of the statutory national curriculum for secondary schools. All maintained secondary schools, including maintained faith schools, are required to teach the issues set out in the key stage 3 and 4 programmes of study.
	The Department does not provide guidance on teaching Citizenship, but the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) provides a range of guidance on all curriculum subjects, including Citizenship, to support schools.

Departmental Publications

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many written pieces of guidance to schools were issued by his Department in each of the last nine years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested by the hon. Member was provided on 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 181W, and remains unchanged.

Departmental Reviews

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) review and  (b) taskforce projects his Department has commissioned in each of the last five years; what the purpose of each such project is; when each such project (i) began and (ii) was completed; what the cost of each such project was; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested details of review and taskforce projects commissioned by the Department and its predecessor cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors spent on the purchase of  (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and  (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was created as a result of the Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Prior to June 2007, it was Department for Education and Skills (DFES). The spend figures are from office supplies purchased via the Department's contract with Banner Business Services (BBS) in the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			   
			   Recycled office supplies  Printer Ink Cartridges 
			 2008-09 74,277 34,845 
			 2007-08 141,081 141,731 
			 2006-07 17,348 27,217 
			 2005-06 (1) (1) 
			 2004-05 (1) (1) 
			 (1 )Only available at disproportionate costs 
		
	
	The figures for 2004-05 and 2005-06 have been archived by the contractor and can only be obtained at disproportionate costs.
	The figures since June 2007 also includes a portion of spend for Department for Universities and Skills DIUS (former DFES staff only). To separate this data would involve disproportionate cost.
	The figures for printer ink cartridges also include remanufactured products.

Industrial Health and Safety

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors spent on compliance with requirements of health and safety at work legislation in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: It is not possible to separately identify what the Department spends on health and safety compliance. The management of health and safety in the Department involves a number of differing elements, each of which forms part of a wider service function.

Primary Education: St Albans

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential to increase the number of primary school places in central St Albans; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department has not made any assessment of the potential to increase the number of primary school places in central St. Albans. That is the local authority's role. Hertfordshire local authority is responsible for planning school places in St. Albans. It is under a duty to ensure sufficient school places are available to meet local needs.

Pupils: Nationality

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what information his Department collects on the nationality of pupils in schools.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect information on the nationality of pupils in schools.

Young People: Voluntary Work

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 598-9W, on young people: voluntary work, what criteria will apply in the selection of local authorities to pilot options to increase the proportion of young people participating in community service.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We envisage running the pilots with local authorities (LAs) in partnership with their secondary schools, the voluntary and community sector in their areas and with relevant agencies. Criteria for selection will include evidence that schools are keen to take part, evidence of the existing level of community service among 14 to 16-year-olds and the prospects for building on that to create a universal expectation and credible plans for involving young people in designing the local arrangements for community service.

Schools: Bullying

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students were suspended from schools following racist incidents in  (a) Leicester City local education authority and  (b) England in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The available information on the number of fixed period exclusions (not the number of students) where the reason for exclusion is racist abuse is shown in the following tables. This is the only reason for exclusion that relates specifically to racism; however, racist incidents could be included in other categories, such as physical assault against a pupil. A pupil can be excluded more than once and these can be for different reasons.
	Reasons for exclusions were recorded for the first time in 2003/04, and the most recent year available is 2006/07; information for 2007/08 is scheduled to be published in the summer. Data collected in 2003/04 and 2004/05 via the Termly Exclusions Survey did not include non-maintained special schools; data collected in 2006/07 via the School Census included both maintained and non-maintained special schools. This difference in scope and the change in collection mechanism mean that caution is needed when comparing results from the two sources. In 2005/06, data on fixed period exclusions were collected from secondary schools only.
	
		
			  Primary, secondary and special schools1 number and proportion of fixed period exclusions for racist abuse 2003/04 to 2006/07, England and Leicester City LA 
			   2003/04( 2)  2004/05( 2) 
			   Primary( 1)  Secondary( 1,4)  Special( 5)  Primary( 1)  Secondary( 1,4)  Special( 5) 
			  Leicester City LA   
			 Number of exclusions(8) 0 10 x x 20 0 
			 Proportion(9) 0.00 0.37 0.67 0.63 0.83 0.00 
			
			  England   
			 Number of exclusions(8) 280 2,220 130 330 2,940 120 
			 Proportion(9) 0.67 0.77 0.83 0.76 0.89 0.73 
		
	
	
		
			   2005/06( 3)  2006/07( 3) 
			   Primary( 1)  Secondary( 1,6)  Special  Primary( 1)  Secondary( 1,2)  Special( 7) 
			  Leicester City LA   
			 Number of exclusions(8) n/a 20 n/a 10 20 0 
			 Proportion(9)  0.63  1.49 0.68 0.00 
			
			  England   
			 Number of exclusions(8) n/a 3,400 n/a 350 3,790 230 
			 Proportion(9) n/a 0.97 n/a 0.75 1.04 1.39 
			 'n/a' = not available 'x' = less than five (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Information on fixed period exclusions has been derived from the Termly Exclusions Survey. (3) Information on fixed period exclusions has been derived from the School Census. (4) Excludes city technology colleges and academies. (5) Includes maintained special schools only. (6) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (7) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. (8) Number of fixed period exclusions where the reason for exclusion was racist abuse. (9) Number of fixed period exclusions where the reason for exclusion was racist abuse as a proportion of all fixed period exclusions by area and phase.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,  Source:  Termly Exclusions Survey and School Census

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications within the Legacy Directorate programme have yet to be processed; and what her latest assessment is of performance under the programme.

Phil Woolas: As of 9 January the UK Border Agency had concluded 155,500 older asylum cases. The previous Home Secretary informed Parliament in July 2006 of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's case load of around 400,000 to 450,000 electronic and paper records. These documents are riddled with duplication and errors, and include cases of individuals who have since died or left the country, or are now EU citizens. It is, therefore, not possible to provide an accurate assessment of how many cases are yet to be processed. The Chief Executive of the Agency will update the Home Affairs Select Committee on case conclusion performance in the summer.

Asylum: Bahrain

Ken Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 850W, on asylum: Bahrain, what sources of information about Bahrain were used in assessing the applications for asylum of  (a) Abdul Raouf Shayeb and  (b) Musa Abd Ali Mohammed, in the absence of UK Border Agency country specific guidance.

Phil Woolas: Information from individual records is confidential and cannot be disclosed to a third party without the authority of the individuals concerned. In the absence of specific country guidance, UK Border Agency case owners have access to country of origin (COI) information produced by the Home Office COI Service from a wide range of reliable external information sources including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, human rights organisations, inter-governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations such as Amnesty International, news media and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Borders: Security

James Plaskitt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many IRIS machines are installed at UK borders; how many were working throughout the first three months of 2009; how many instances of equipment failure have been recorded since the installation of these machines; and how many people have registered on the IRIS system.

Phil Woolas: There are 12 IRIS machines in operation at 10 airport terminals: Heathrow terminals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5; Manchester terminals 1 and 2; Birmingham terminal 1 and Gatwick North and South.
	The recorded barrier availability figures for the first three months of 2009 are:
	
		
			   Percentage availability 
			 January 97.31 
			 February 98.02 
			 March 98.90 
		
	
	It is not possible to isolate the number of instances of equipment failure from other faults. However, between January 2008 and March 2009, the overall availability of the IRIS system has been 95.36 per cent.
	The number of passenger crossings has now reached the 2 million milestone. To date, 299,975 people have enrolled on the IRIS system.

Crime Prevention

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what timetable she has set for introduction of public service agreements on  (a) making communities safer and  (b) reducing the harm caused by alcohol and drugs.

Jacqui Smith: The delivery agreements for the public service agreements (PSA) for the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 were published by HM Treasury in October 2007 and came into effect in March 2008. This included a PSA for making communities safer and reducing the harm caused by alcohol and drugs.
	Progress towards delivery is reported annually in the Departmental Annual Report and the Autumn Performance Report.

Departmental Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff employed in London on work contracted out by her Department earn less than 7.45 per hour.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 13 May 2009
	We do not hold the information requested. The pay received by temporary staff and other contractors engaged in London and elsewhere through supply agencies is a matter between the suppliers and their employees, subject to employment laws.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (i) all staff and (ii) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made.

Phil Woolas: In the Home Office HQ and the UK Border Agency, non-consolidated performance related payments are awarded to individuals at Grade 6 and below who have made an exceptional contribution throughout the year. Under the current arrangements up to 35 per cent. of staff in these grades may receive a non-consolidated performance related payment. The total amount paid to staff in 2008-09 was 3,486,925 and the number of payments made was 6,036 (relating to staff performance for the year 2007-08). The total pay bill was c.750 million, of which 0.5 per cent. was used for non-consolidated performance payments to staff.
	Staff in the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) can receive end of year corporate non-consolidated performance related payments and change agent payments (for Grade 6 and 7's only). The total amount paid to staff in 2008-09 was 1,537,113 and the number of payments made was 4,054 (relating to staff performance for the year 2007-08). The total pay bill was 103,690,330 of which 1.48 per cent. was used for non-consolidated performance payments.
	Staff in the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) do not receive end of year performance related payments.
	The criteria for awarding senior civil servants with end of year non-consolidated performance payments are set by the Prime Minister following independent advice from the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB). The level of these payments takes into account a number of factors including individual performance against agreed priority business objectives and targets. The total amount paid to SCS staff in the Home Office and its Agencies in 2008-09 was 1,264,000 and the number of payments made was 128 (relating to staff performance for the year 2007-08). The total pay bill was 14,330,946 of which 8.6 per cent. was used for non-consolidated performance payments. The Government have responded to current economic conditions by freezing the size of the SCS non-consolidated pot (for 2008-09).
	All such non-consolidated performance related payments in the Home Office and its agencies are funded within existing pay bill controls, have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined performance standards and targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on the purchase of  (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and  (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The information is as follows.
	 (a) All available information for the last 12 months is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Product type  Cost () 
			 Paper products April 2008-March 2009 644,000 
			 General stationery June 2008-April 2009 137,716 
			 Computer consumables June 2008-January 2009 611,333 
		
	
	 (b) The requested information is not held centrally in the Home Office and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Deportation

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the deportation of women to countries where forced genital mutilation is practised.

Phil Woolas: UKBA may enforce the removal of any individual whose claim to remain in the UK has failed.
	An individual makes a claim to remain in the UK, setting out the reasons for their claim, including any fear of genital mutilation. That claim is considered in full and a decision is made as to whether the individual would qualify for refugee status or humanitarian protection because of a well-founded fear that she will be subjected to female genital mutilation on her return to the country of origin, and there is evidence that this practice is knowingly tolerated by the authorities or they are unable to offer effective protection, and that there is no reasonable possibility that she would be able to avoid the threat by moving elsewhere within the country.
	If this claim is refused and the courts do not uphold any appeal against such a decision the individual will be expected to leave the United Kingdom. If she does not do so voluntarily we will seek to enforce return.

Detection Rates

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date her Department's public service agreement target in relation to detections will be amended to provide that minor crimes will no longer count towards the target.

Jacqui Smith: There is no public service agreement target on police detections.
	Public Service Agreement 24, that came into effect in March 2008, seeks the efficiency and effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System in bringing offences to justice by improving Criminal Justice System performance in bringing serious violent, serious sexual and serious acquisitive offences to justice.

Dual Nationality

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British passport holders also hold Pakistani nationality.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not available.
	Although applicants for British passports who have registered or naturalised are required to send in a registration or naturalisation certificate with their application, including any foreign passports held, these are returned after identity has been confirmed and no statistical record is kept of their country of origin or previous nationality.

Foreign Workers: Health Services

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of the implementation of the points-based immigration system on the employment of foreign nationals as nurses in the NHS.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency has worked closely with the Department of Health and external stakeholders in the sector, including NHS Employers, throughout the development of the Points Based System (PBS). Where vacancies for nurses exist which cannot be filled by workers from within the European economic area (EEA), NHS trusts that are licensed sponsors under Tier 2 of the PBS are able to bring nurses to the UK to fill these posts. Some specialist nursing posts have been included on the Government's shortage occupation list.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the airline industry on responsibility for the cost of returning to their country of origin persons trafficked by air into the UK.

Phil Woolas: holding answer  14 May 2009
	There are no specific arrangements for assigning responsibility of the costs of returning trafficking victims to their country of origin. I am not aware that this has been raised as an issue by the airline industry. It is our policy to encourage voluntary returns wherever possible, which in most cases would not result in a cost being incurred by a carrier.

Identity Cards: Foreigners

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many identity cards had been issued to non-EEA foreign nationals who are subject to immigration control on the latest date for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: As of the end of April 2009, the UK Border Agency had issued over 34,120 identity cards for foreign nationals.

Identity Cards: Greater Manchester

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the rate at which voluntary take up of identity cards will occur under the Manchester pilot.

Phil Woolas: No estimates have been made of the rate of voluntary take up of identity cards for the Manchester roll-out.
	The take up in Manchester will provide an indication of the likely rate of take up to inform further roll out strategy for the National Identity Service.

Immigration Controls

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals were made by applicants under the Highly-Skilled Migrants programme where applications were refused because their savings fell below the required level; and how many such appeals were successful in each year that the scheme has operated.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not available for either in country appeals or out of country administrative reviews. This is because the UK Border Agency's Case Information Database is unable to extract data on the specific reasons why an application is initially refused. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by the examination of a large number of individual case files.

Offenders: Deportation

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 5,589 suspected immigration offenders arrested in 2007-08 have subsequently been  (a) charged,  (b) convicted and  (c) deported.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency records details of the number of individuals arrested as suspected immigration offenders, details of prosecutions, and the details of those removed on three separate systems. In order to achieve the required level of data quality, the cross-referencing of data between the three systems could only completed by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
	The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed and departed voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis, as well as statistics on persons proceeded against for offences under Immigration Acts in England and Wales annually. National Statistics on immigration and asylum are placed in the Library of the House and are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	It should be noted, however, that the UK Border Agency would normally seek to remove an individual under such circumstances, rather than to prosecute them, as the former presents a more cost effective alternative.

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish the next statistical bulletin on the operation of certain powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

Vernon Coaker: The latest publication, Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales 2007/08, was published on 30 April 2009.
	Chapter 2 contains statistics on stops and searches and certain other powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
	The bulletin can be accessed from the following link:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0709.pdf
	Publication of the 2008-09 bulletin is expected be within the next 12 months but a date has not yet been announced.

Police Custody: Death

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what persons in respect of which any inquests and other legal proceedings have been concluded have died in police custody since 1990; what the  (a) date,  (b) place and  (c) cause of each death was; and what the coroner's verdict was in each case where there was an inquest.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 11 May 2009
	The Home Office was responsible for publishing statistics relating to death following police contact which included date, place, cause of death and the verdict from any coroner's inquest until 31 March 2004. Since 1 April 2004 the Independent Police Complaints Commission has been responsible for the collation and publication of such data.
	The statistics between 1990-2000 are contained within Police Complaints and Discipline Bulletins and separately from 1997 on the Home Office and IPCC websites.
	Links are as follows:
	 From 1990:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbarchive.html
	 From 1997:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/deaths-in-police-custody
	 And from 1 April 2004:
	http://wwwiipcc.gov.uk/index/resources/research/reports_polcustody.htm

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding she plans to provide to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in each of the next three years; what discussions she has had with the IPCC on its future funding since January 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office is providing funding of 36.7 million to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for 2009-10. This includes funding for its remit in respect of serious complaints made against staff of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). In addition, the IPCC also receives funding from the UK Border Agency, and HM Revenue and Customs to fund its complaints investigation work in respect of those organisations.
	Funding levels for future years have not yet been determined. The Home Office works closely with the IPCC to review its financial position and its performance on a regular basis to ensure that it can continue to deliver its statutory role and that it is making best use of its resources.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many  (a) police officers and  (b) civilian staff of each (i) age group and (ii) sex were employed by Essex police in (A) 2007, (B) 2008 and (C) 2009 to date;
	(2)  how many  (a) police officers and  (b) civilian staff were employed by Essex Police Authority in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) to date in 2009, broken down by (A) age and (B) sex.

Vernon Coaker: The information collected centrally shows the number of police officers and civilian staff employed by Essex police on 31 March 2007 and 31 March 2008, broken down by four age groups (25 and under; 26 to 40; 41 to 55; and over 55) and sex. It is shown in the following table. Corresponding figures for 31 March 2009 will be available when the National Statistics bulletin Police Service Personnel, England and Wales, 31 March 2009, is published on 23 July 2009.
	Separate figures for officers and staff employed by Essex police authority are not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Number of police officers and staff employed by Essex police: 2007-08 
			   Age group (HC)   Gender (FTE)  
			   25 and under  25-40  41-55  Over 55  Total (HC)( 1)  Male  Female  Total (FTE)( 1) 
			  31 March 2007 
			 Police officers 517 1592 1267 21 3397 2480 860 3340 
			 Police staff(2) 374 749 939 550 2612 948 1434 2382 
			  31 March 2008 
			 Police officers 527 1686 1209 23 3445 2479 906 3385 
			 Police staff(2) 391 802 954 594 2741 989 1512 2501 
			 (1) Age group figures presented in terms of head-count (HC) as the more commonly used full time equivalent (FTE) measures not collected. (2) Police staff figures include police community support officers, designated officers and traffic wardens.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) operational police officers per head of population there are in Essex Police; what recent discussions she has had with the chief constable of Essex police on this issue; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Latest available figures for police officers and operational police officers per head of population as at 31 March 2008 are shown in the following table. Deployment is not an issue that we would discuss. It is for the chief constable and the Essex Police Authority to reach decisions on the allocation of resources. We understand from the chief constable that over the next three to five years Operation Apex will increase the number of police officers by around 600.
	
		
			  Number of officers and operational officers employed by Essex police on 31 March 2008 
			   Number (full-time equivalent)  Rate per 100,000 population 
			 Total police officers 3,385 203 
			  Of which:   
			 Operational police officers(1) 3,265 196 
			 (1) Any officer whose primary role (i.e. over 50 per cent. of their time) is directly to deliver the overarching aims of the police service.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she next plans to visit Essex Police Authority area; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Secretary has no current plans to visit Essex, having visited the force in November last year. I visited Colchester in April this year.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when representatives of her Department last visited Essex Police Authority area; what issues were discussed; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: I visited Essex on 9 April this year, while there I saw the SOS bus and visited Colchester police station.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions representatives of her Department have had with representatives of Essex Police Authority since December 2008 on the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: There have been no conversations between Home Office Ministers or officials and Essex police authority on the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since December 2008.

Police: Information and Communications Technology

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many and what proportion of police authority computers malware was detected in 2008.

Vernon Coaker: This information is not held centrally by the Home Office.

Police: Powers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 7-8WS, on policing: publication of reports by Sir David Normington and Jan Berry, what steps her Department is taking to review charging procedures to help police use their discretion more.

Jacqui Smith: The Home Office is committed to returning discretion to police forces and frontline officers by streamlining performance management, reducing bureaucracy, and improving supervision at all levels of the service.
	Sir David Normington's review set out how the Home Office will reduce burdens on police forces by removing or reducing the amount of information we collect from them, thus allowing police forces to spend less time filling out paperwork for the centre.
	Jan Berry, the Reducing Bureaucracy Advocate, was appointed to help us cut the bureaucracy coming out of Whitehall and to challenge both Government and the service itself to make further reductions in unnecessary bureaucracy. Along with a reference group comprising frontline police officers and support staff she has been analysing common procedures undertaken by frontline officers and staff with a view to reducing the bureaucracy involved.
	One of the areas that she has been looking at is the custody process, including charging practices. As I announced at the Police Federation Conference on 13 May, Jan Berry is now working with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General on the scope for streamlining the charging process so that the police get the best possible service and a quicker turnaround on decisions from the Crown Prosecution Service, and that police officers receive the appropriate advice to enable them to use their discretion confidently in making charging decisions.

Police: Standards

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) status and  (b) delivery timetable is of the National Policing Improvement Agency's project to (i) create a common operating environment for police officers and (ii) create innovative information services for citizens and partners of police forces.

Jacqui Smith: Following a commission from the National Policing Board, the National Policing Improvement Agency has established the Information Systems Improvement Strategy (ISIS). This programme of work will create both a common operating environment for officers and innovative information services. The ISIS programme is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
	The programme's focus for 2009-10 includes:
	Delivery of a national crime mapping solution by September 2009
	New national procurement agreements that will deliver cost savings
	Working with police forces to develop a new digital evidence strategy that will contribute to improvements across the criminal justice system.
	The ISIS plan for 2009-10 will shortly be published and distributed to police forces and police authorities and the programme will report on progress to myself and the National Policing Board in June.

Police: Stun Guns

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the written ministerial statement of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 37-8W, on Tasers, how many Tasers each police force has; and how much expenditure her Department has incurred in supplying Tasers to each police force in the last 12 months.

Vernon Coaker: Taser has been available for use by authorised firearms officers in all forces since 2004. At 31 March 2008, there were 6,780 authorised firearms officers in England and Wales.
	In extending the use of Taser to specially trained units the Home Office has so far provided 8 million to the National Policing Improvement Agency to support the purchase of 7,000 Tasers which have been distributed to forces. The breakdown by force is in the following table.
	
		
			  Police force  Tasers requested and provided 
			 Avon and Somerset Constabulary 130 
			 Bedfordshire Constabulary 90 
			 British Transport Police 400 
			 Cambridgeshire Constabulary 150 
			 Cheshire Constabulary 82 
			 City of London Police 30 
			 Cleveland Constabulary 140 
			 Cumbria Constabulary 50 
			 Derbyshire Constabulary 250 
			 Devon and Cornwall Constabulary 325 
			 Dorset Constabulary 100 
			 Durham Constabulary 120 
			 Dyfed Powys Police 80 
			 Essex Police 60 
			 Gloucestershire Constabulary 50 
			 Greater Manchester Police 550 
			 Gwent Constabulary 100 
			 Hampshire Constabulary 100 
			 Hertfordshire Constabulary 110 
			 Humberside Police 100 
			 Kent Constabulary 112 
			 Lancashire Constabulary 200 
			 Leicestershire Constabulary 110 
			 Lincolnshire Police 364 
			 Merseyside Police 365 
			 Metropolitan Police 150 
			 Norfolk Constabulary 100 
			 Northamptonshire Police 36 
			 Northumbria Police 88 
			 North Wales Police 130 
			 North Yorkshire Police 100 
			 Nottinghamshire Constabulary 200 
			 South Wales Constabulary 120 
			 South Yorkshire Police 70 
			 Staffordshire Police 98 
			 Suffolk Constabulary 100 
			 Surrey Police 250 
			 Sussex Police 50 
			 Thames Valley Police 100 
			 Warwickshire Constabulary 78 
			 West Mercia Constabulary 70 
			 West Midlands Police 600 
			 West Yorkshire Police 327 
			 Wiltshire Constabulary 95 
			 SOCA 70 
			 Total 7,000

UK Border Agency: Disciplinary Proceedings

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of the UK Border Agency were  (a) investigated,  (b) disciplined and  (c) removed from duty in 2008.

Phil Woolas: The following figures relate to the calendar year 2008.
	
		
			   Number 
			 (a) Staff investigated 394 
			 (b) Staff disciplined 176 
			  (c) Staff removed from duty:  
			 (i) Suspended 64 
			 (ii) Dismissed 91 
			  Notes: 1. This does not include attendance management and performance management related figures. 2. The figures for 'removed from duty' include 64 staff who were suspended and 91 who were dismissed. The dismissed figure is not included in the 'staff disciplined' category. 3. Out of the 64 staff suspended, some staff were subsequently dismissed and are included in the 'dismissed' figures. The remaining staff either received a disciplinary outcome less than dismissal e.g. first formal warning, final formal warning and penalty short of dismissal or are still on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation.

United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget of the UK Human Trafficking Centre was in each of the last three financial years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 30 April 2009
	The budget for the UK Human Trafficking Centre for the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			
			 2007-08 834,000 
			 2008-09 1.7 million 
			 2009-10 1.6 million

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Departmental ICT

John Thurso: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he has taken to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide emissions arising from the operation of ICT systems in his Department under the Greening Government ICT Strategy.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs gave on 21 April 2009,  Official Report, column 522W, to the hon. Member for Cardiff, Central (Jenny Willott).

Departmental Responsibilities

John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  which Minister has responsibility for the Energy and Climate Change Unit in his Department;
	(2)  when he expects the Energy and Climate Change Unit's administration budget for 2009-10 to be finalised.

Ian Pearson: I am the Minister responsible for the Unit but it provides support to all Ministers within the Department. The administration budget for 2009-10 for the Unit is expected to be finalised by the end of June.

LDV: Birmingham

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions the Secretary of State has had with LDV on restarting production at its plant in Birmingham.

Ian Pearson: None. I deal with matters relating to LDV.

Parliamentary Questions: Government Responses

Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to answer Question 264097, tabled on 16 March 2009 on complaints on handling of requests for mobile telephone service cancellations.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 28 April 2009
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs gave on 11 May 2009,  Official Report, column 560W.

Regional Development Agencies

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the regional development agencies in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Ian Pearson: The RDAs expenditure in 2007-08 was 2,265 million and in 2008-09 expenditure is forecasted (subject to audit) at 2,179 million. This expenditure takes account of the cost of delivery for various programmes (e.g. Business Links) and of administration. These figures do not include EU programme monies associated with ERDF and RDPE.

Small Businesses: Government Assistance

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many small businesses have applied for a loan through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme since its creation; what criteria are used by his Department on deciding suitability for a loan under the scheme; under what circumstances such a loan would be refused; how many applications have been  (a) accepted and  (b) refused; what the average loan was; whether interest is charged on each loan; how much has been allocated by his Department to the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) came in to operation on 14 January. A 75 per cent. Government guarantee for loans will support bank lending of three months to 10 year maturity. Eligible businesses should have a turnover of up to 25million. The scheme will enable them to secure loans of between 1,000 and 1 million through the Government guarantee. The scheme can also be used to convert an existing overdraft into a loan, enabling small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to use these overdraft facilities to meet working capital demands. A Premium of 2 per cent. per annum (1.5 per cent. during 2009) on the outstanding balance of the loan is also payable to BERR, in addition to the loan repayments and any interest set and charged by the lender.
	Decisions on individual lending rests with the lender, whose decision will follow a commercial assessment of the viability of the proposition and the ability to service the loan and other charges, the suitability of EFG as opposed to lender's other commercial lending products, and the EFG eligibility criteria (including sector restrictions as detailed on the BERR website).

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Civil Service Reform

Paul Rowen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on proposals for reform of the civil service to be contained in legislation on constitutional reform.

Liam Byrne: The Government continues to develop its proposals on constitutional renewal, including those for the civil service.

Charities

Julie Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he plans to take to assist charities in the current economic situation.

Kevin Brennan: In addition to Real Help for Communities we will shortly be announcing details of the 16.7 million fund announced in the Budget to help third sector organisations facing hardship as a result of the global economic crisis.
	I am continuing to listen to the sector, for example, by co-chairing a follow-up recession summit with that National Council for Voluntary Organisations on 10 June, to understand the ongoing effects of the recession.

Voter Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what data the Office for National Statistics gathers on the level of voter registration.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 May 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what data the Office for National Statistics gathers on the level of voter registration. (276405)
	The Office for National Statistics collects annual counts of the number of people who are registered to vote - in Parliamentary, European and Local Government Elections - from Electoral Registration Officers in each local authority in England and Wales.
	In Scotland the counts of registered voters are collated by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). In Northern Ireland the counts are collected by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI).
	The Office for National Statistics collates all these data to produce annual Electoral Statistics for the UK by Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority.
	ONS also produces annual estimates of the mid-year resident population of the UK. These figures can be compared to annual estimates of the mid-year resident population to provide an approximation to voter registration rates.
	This is not a precise figure for voter registration rates because not everybody who is usually resident is entitled to vote and on the other hand some people may be registered in more than one area (e.g. some people with more than one address).

Charities: Government Assistance

Dan Norris: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what financial and other support his Department is giving to charities during the economic downturn.

Kevin Brennan: Up to 42.5 million was announced in Real Help for Communities in February; a 16.7 million Hardship fund was announced in the Budget, as well as a 1.2 billion jobs fund which the third sector will be able to access.

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what changes have been made to the Civil Service Management Code provisions on  (a) blogging and use of social media by civil servants,  (b) guidance on access to papers of a previous administration and  (c) civil servants publishing memoirs in the last six months.

Tom Watson: The Civil Service Management Code has been revised to reflect updated rules for civil servants on the publication of memoirs, and to provide a link to guidance for civil servants' on their participation in social media and on-line activity. The guidance on access to papers of a previous administration has not been revised, but the Code text covering this issue has been shortened and now links to further guidance in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance.
	A copy of the Civil Service Management Code can be found in the Library of the House and online at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/Assets/CSMC_April08_tcm6-3222_new_tcm6-6433.doc

Civil Servants: Vacancies

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of  (a) central government and  (b) Civil Service vacancies were advertised via the public and private parts of the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway in the last year for which figures are available.

Tom Watson: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1057-1058W. In the past 12 months, 47 per cent. of all Civil Service vacancies were advertised internally online and 53 per cent. were advertised externally online to the general public.

Civil Service: Recruitment

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria the  (a) Cabinet Office,  (b) Government Communications Network and  (c) the Central Office of Information uses to determine whether a job is advertised (i) publicly on the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway external site, (ii) the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway internal site and (iii) internally only.

Tom Watson: Civil service recruitment follows the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles.

Civil Service: Recruitment

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance the Civil Service Commissioners have issued on the circumstances in which Civil Service vacancies are advertised to the general public.

Tom Watson: It is for departments to determine the route for filling their vacancies.
	Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is required to be on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles provide detail on how the Commissioners interpret this requirement, which must be followed by departments.
	A copy of the Civil Service Commissioners Report can be found in the House of Commons Library or at:
	www.civilservicecommissioners.org.

Departmental Air Travel

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many  (a) officials of each grade and  (b) special advisers in 10 Downing Street have flown with British Airways on official business in each month since June 2007; what the (i) destination and (ii) cost of the ticket was in each case; what policy governs the use of British Airways by officials in 10 Downing Street; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: For the purposes of this answer, the Prime Minister's Office is part of the Cabinet Office.
	The Cabinet Office does not hold a breakdown of the information required since June 2007.
	Cabinet Office policy requires officials to use the most cost effective class of air travel appropriate to the business need which takes account of the level of work that needs to be done during the flight and the importance of minimising fatigue. Standard class should normally be used but where the circumstances are justified, including longer flights, officials may travel in a higher class. Seats may be up-graded to a higher class where this does not involve additional cost. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the civil service management code and the ministerial code.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 submitted to the Cabinet Office more than six months ago are being assessed for their public interest implications.

Tom Watson: The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics, on a quarterly basis, which give details of the number of requests that have had their deadline extended to consider the balance of public interest. Copies of the statistics are available in the Library of the House and are on the Ministry of Justice's website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm

Departmental Logos

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire of 31 October 2006,  Official Report, column 323W, on departmental branding, what the Cabinet Office's policy is on the  (a) re-use and  (b) disposal of departmental-branded goods which become out of date following machinery of Government changes; and in what manner the sign of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office was disposed of.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Office logo is used as a corporate image and is included on the majority of material produced by the Department. Wherever possible the Department would make use of any branded material that was outdated, or recycle any items that could not be reused.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government have confirmed that the sign of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office was given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) when he left office. The used value of the sign was minimal.

Departmental Mobile Telephones

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 392-93W, on departmental mobile telephones, 
	(1)  whether any of the 14 damaged mobile telephones had been allocated to individuals who work in 10 Downing Street;
	(2)  what the cost to the public purse was of replacing the 14 damaged mobile telephones;
	(3)  what the  (a) make and  (b) model of each of the 14 damaged mobile telephones was.

Tom Watson: None of the 14 phones that were damaged had been issued to individuals who work in Downing street.
	Under the terms of the contract the Department has with Vodafone, damaged handsets are replaced free of charge on a 'like for like' replacement policy.
	The make and models of the 14 damaged mobile phones mentioned in my answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 392-93W, to the right hon. Member are given in the table:
	
		
			  Make  Model  Number 
			 Sony Ericsson P990i 1 
			 Sony Ericsson K530i 1 
			 Motorola Raza 1 
			 Nokia 6822 1 
			 Nokia 6300 1 
			 Nokia 6230 2 
			 Nokia 3109 2 
			 Blackberry 8800 3 
			 Blackberry 7130v 1 
			 Blackberry 8100 1

Economic Situation: Disadvantaged People

Anne Moffat: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment his Department has made of the effects on socially-excluded people of the recession.

Kevin Brennan: The Government are acutely aware of the importance of helping those who are socially excluded, which is why it is one of our top 30 priorities under PSA 16. In addition to Real Help Now measures, the Social Exclusion Task Force has started a project to identify further practical help to protect those on the cusp of a downward spiral into social exclusion and ensure that they come through the recession stronger.

Employment: Logistics

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  how many people in each region work in the logistics sector;
	(2)  how many people worked in the logistics sector in each region in each quarter of 2008.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated May 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions:
	How many people in each region work in the logistics sector? (276153)
	How many people worked in the logistics sector in each region in each quarter of 2008? (276154)
	The attached table shows the number of employee jobs for transport, storage and communication activities (Section I of the Standard Industrial Classification 2003) in each UK Government Office Region (GOR) from 2007Q1 to 2008Q4, the most recent estimate available. The quarterly series are not seasonally adjusted and so estimates for 2007 have been included in order to produce series of annual change.
	These estimates are produced from employer surveys and are subject to sampling variability. They exclude self-employed jobs and government supported trainees, which are not available by region by industry. Section level is the lowest industry level available by region for quarterly employee jobs. Section I has been deemed to best represent the 'logistics sector' and this includes land transport, water transport, storage, warehousing, post and telecommunications. A more detailed breakdown of employee jobs by industry by region is available from ONS's Annual Business Inquiry, although the most recent estimates are for 2007.
	
		
			  Section I: Transport, Storage and Communication (Division 60 to 64) of the Standard Industrial Classification 2003 
			  Employee jobs (thousand) 
			   Government office regions 
			  Levels  South-east  East  London  South-west  West midlands  East midlands  Yorkshire and Humber  North-west  North-east 
			  2007  
			 March 217.8 146.1 304.4 106.4 130.8 107.7 127.1 173.9 52.7 
			 June 218.9 145.3 308.9 108.4 131.0 108.0 128.4 173.2 53.4 
			 September 221.2 144.5 304.2 112.9 130.3 108.7 127.2 170.8 53.0 
			 December 223.9 145.5 310.3 115.5 133.9 111.9 129.2 175.1 53.2 
			   
			  2008  
			 March 220.3 142.7 306.3 114.1 131.0 109.4 126.8 172.1 52.3 
			 June 221.3 143.2 308.8 113.0 132.2 110.1 129.1 173.2 53.3 
			 September 220.1 142.9 306.5 113.5 130.8 109.1 129.0 173.1 53.0 
			 December 222.1 143.8 306.9 114.2 132.1 111.1 129.1 175.1 53.5 
			   
			 Change on year  
			  2008  
			 March 2.5 -3.4 1.9 7.7 0.2 1.7 -0.3 -1.8 -0.4 
			 June 2.4 -2.1 -0.1 4.6 1.2 2.1 0.7 0.0 -0.1 
			 September -1.1 -1.6 2.3 0.6 0.5 2.4 1.8 2.3 0.0 
			 December -1.8 -1.7 -3.4 -1.3 -1.8 -0.8 -0.1 0.0 0.3 
			   
			 Change on year %  
			 March 1.1 -2.3 0.6 7.2 0.2 1.6 -0.2 -1.0 -0.8 
			 June 1.1 -1.4 0.0 4.2 0.9 1.9 0.5 0.0 -0.2 
			 September -0.5 -1.1 0.8 0.5 0.4 2.2 1.4 1.3 0.0 
			 December -0.8 -1.2 -1.1 -1.1 -1.3 -0.7 -0.1 0.0 0.6 
		
	
	
		
			  Employee jobs (thousand) 
			   Government office regions 
			  Levels  Wales  Scotland  Northern Ireland  UK 
			  2007 
			 March 49.7 124.4 29.4 1,570.5 
			 June 50.8 127.0 30.3 1,581.6 
			 September 50.7 130.0 31.2 1,582.6 
			 December 51.2 132.5 31.5 1,613.8 
			  
			  2008 
			 March 50.6 130.4 31.4 1,587.5 
			 June 51.4 131.5 30.9 1,596.0 
			 September 50.1 128.3 30.9 1,587.3 
			 December 50.1 129.0 31.3 1,598.1 
			  
			 Change on year 
			  2008 
			 March 0.9 6.0 2.0 17.0 
			 June 0.6 4.5 0.6 14.4 
			 September -0.6 -1.7 -0.3 4.7 
			 December -1.1 -3.5 -0.2 -15.7 
			  
			  Change on year % 
			 March 1.8 4.8 6.8 1.1 
			 June 1.2 3.5 2.0 0.9 
			 September -1.2 -1.3 -1.0 0.3 
			 December -2.1 -2.6 -0.6 -1.0 
			  Source: Business Statistics Division, ONS Customer Helpline 01633 456776

Gifts and Endowments

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what financial threshold applies to  (a) Ministers,  (b) senior civil servants and  (c) special advisers for the registering of hospitality or gifts with their Department.

Tom Watson: The requirements on Ministers in relation to the registering of hospitality and gifts is set out in the ministerial code. For civil servants, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 March 2009,  Official Report, column 712W.
	Copies of the ministerial code can be found in the Library of the House or on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/propriety_and_ethics/assets/ministerial_code_current.pdf

Public Bodies

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many public sector regulatory bodies have been  (a) created and  (b) abolished since May 1997.

Tom Watson: The annual Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies provides information on all non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), including those with regulatory functions. In 1997 there were 857 NDPBs sponsored by UK Government. By 2008 the number had fallen to 790. Copies of Public Bodies dating back to 1997 are available in the Libraries of the House.

Public Sector: Public Consultation

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the use of citizens' juries.

Tom Watson: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Edward Miliband) gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 3 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2206W.
	In relation to the last citizen's jury held by the Cabinet Office, on the Draft Legislative programme in October 2007, the Government's assessment was that it was helpful both in informing the development of that document and in shaping the consultation process for future draft programmes.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 943-4W, on trade unions, whether the office working space provided by the Cabinet Office to trade union representatives may be used for political activities.

Tom Watson: Union Representatives are all civil servants and as such are bound by the Civil Service Code.
	The rules relating to civil servants' involvement in political activities, including trade union representatives, are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answers to the hon. Member for Chichester of 25 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1185W, on trades unions, and of 2 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 943-44W, on trades unions, what the  (a) location and  (b) size of the office facilities provided for the exclusive use of each of the recognised trade unions in (i) his Department, (ii) Government Communications and (iii) the Central Office of Information is; and what the notional monetary value of such provision was in 2008-09.

Tom Watson: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 2 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 943-44W.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of whether the practice of attributing carbon neutrality to all biomass is compliant with Article 3.3 of the Kyoto Protocol.

Joan Ruddock: The practice of attributing carbon neutrality to biomass at the point of use is consistent with article 3.3 of the Kyoto Protocol because the carbon stock changes reported under this article take account of biomass harvesting for subsequent use.

Biofuels

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the emissions to air of  (a) carbon dioxide and  (b) nitrogen oxides which would arise if the UK were to achieve its targets for the usage of biomass as fuel as set in the Renewable Energy Strategy consultation 2008.

Joan Ruddock: If the UK were to achieve the estimated potential for the use of biomass for heat and power, as set out in the Renewable Energy Strategy consultation 2008, and assuming that biomass is carbon neutral, this could save around 20 Mt carbon dioxide compared to the fossil fuel alternative. This methodology does not account for losses of carbon dioxide during production, processing and transport, whose impact will vary on a case by case basis. Some of these savings will occur within the Emissions Trading Scheme. On nitrogen oxides, Government has modelled the potential impact of an increase in use of biomass in the domestic sector against a range of scenarios. We estimate this could result in an additional 0.8-9.1 ktonnes NOx over a baseline for 2020 of 87.1 ktonnes, depending on the amount of heat produced and the level of performance of the biomass unit.

British Nuclear Fuels

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the salary of the chief executive of British Nuclear Fuels plc was in each of the last 10 years.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The salary paid to the chief executive in each of the last 10 full years is as follows:
	
		
			  Year ending 31 March  Salary () 
			 2008 518,450 
			 2007 510,800 
			 2006 486,450 
			 2005 470,000 
			 2004 450,000 
			 2003 375,950 
			 2002 365,000 
			 2001 350,000 
			 2000 247,056 
			 1999 239,861 
		
	
	Full details of the remuneration paid to the chief executive are published in BNFL's annual report and accounts.

Departmental Written Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2008,  Official Report, column 557 on departmental records, what estimate he made of the cost of answering the Question; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The cost of answering the hon. Member's question, in terms of expenditure incurred and the time and effort spent by officials to retrieve the relevant files, is estimated to exceed the current disproportionate cost threshold of 750.

Fuel Poverty

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households were estimated to be in fuel poverty in each  (a) region and  (b) London local authority area in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Joan Ruddock: Regional fuel poverty figures are not available prior to 2001. The following table shows a regional breakdown of fuel poverty for 2006, the most recent year for which data are available.
	
		
			  Region  Number of fuel poor households 2006 (thousand) 
			 North East 179 
			 Yorks and Humber 273 
			 North West 415 
			 East Midlands 236 
			 West Midlands 304 
			 South West 256 
			 East England 224 
			 South East 291 
			 London 254 
			 Total 2,432 
		
	
	Local authority data on fuel poverty are not available for 1997. The most recent year for which local authority levels of fuel poverty are available is 2003 and the following table shows these for local authorities in London.
	
		
			  Local authority  Number of fuel poor households 2003 (thousand) 
			 Barking and Dagenham 3,900 
			 Barnet 6,700 
			 Bexley 5,000 
			 Brent 5,300 
			 Bromley 6,700 
			 Camden 4,800 
			 City of London 200 
			 Croydon 7,700 
			 Ealing 6,100 
			 Enfield 6,000 
			 Greenwich 5,300 
			 Hackney 4,600 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,800 
			 Haringey 5,200 
			 Harrow 4,000 
			 Havering 5,000 
			 Hillingdon 4,800 
			 Hounslow 4,300 
			 Islington 4,200 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4,100 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3,200 
			 Lambeth 6,100 
			 Lewisham 5,900 
			 Merton 4,200 
			 Newham 5,800 
			 Redbridge 5,200 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,100 
			 Southwark 5,400 
			 Sutton 3,900 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,800 
			 Waltham Forest 5,300 
			 Wandsworth 5,900 
			 Westminster 5,600 
			 London total 162,200

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require private building companies to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 11 May 2009
	 In future, the Carbon Reduction Commitment will incentivise all private and public sector organisations that consume at least 6,000 MWh of half hourly metered electricity per year, including private building companies, to reduce their CO2( )emissions. The final details of the scheme are currently subject to public consultation which closes on 4 June and it will come into force in 2010.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government (Communities) is responsible for setting minimum standards for the energy and carbon performance of building works through the building regulations in England and (currently) Wales. Communities has announced that all new homes in England will be NET zero carbon from 2016, with progressive tightening of part L of the Building Regulations towards that outcome in 2010 and 2013. Communities expect to consult shortly on part L changes for 2010.
	Government have also announced their ambition for new non-domestic buildings to be zero carbon from 2019. Communities has recently consulted on the definition of zero carbon homes and non-domestic buildings. The need for new legislation to give effect to these policies will be considered at a later stage. The devolved Administrations are working on their own proposals for low and zero carbon development.

Nuclear Power Stations: Safety

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions his Department has had with the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on the safety control systems for the design of the generic European Pressurised Water Reactor; and what the timetable is for the assessment of generic design candidate reactors for new nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom.

Mike O'Brien: The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the HSE is in the process of assessing EDF/AREVA's UK European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) as part of their Generic Design Assessment (GDA). During this process the NII has informed officials from DECC's Office of Nuclear Development (OND) that it has raised issues with EDF/AREVA on the Control and Instrumentation (CI) systems of the EPR design.
	The NII has raised this matter with EDF/AREVA, both verbally and as a Regulatory Issue (the highest level of technical issue that can be given under GDA), sent on 16 April 2009.
	Having a GDA process in the UK allows the regulators to raise these types of issues at an early stage of the assessment process, which is what the NII has been able to do. This then allows the company involved to identify solutions that can be implemented at an early stage of the conceptual design, prior to construction.
	We expect the GDA process to be completed by June 2011.

Warm Front Scheme: East Midlands

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who the approved suppliers to the Warm Front scheme in the East Midlands are.

Joan Ruddock: The following list details installers registered with the Warm Front scheme and able to deliver measures in the East Midlands.
	 Installer name
	Absolute Insulation Ltd.
	Anglian Insulation
	Aran Services Ltd.
	Better Plumbing Services Ltd.
	BGC Gas Services Ltd.
	Blue Flag Ltd.
	Castle Point Insulation Ltd.
	Cosyhome Insulation Ltd.
	Cosytop Thermal Insulations Ltd.
	eaga Heating Services Ltd.
	eaga Home Services Ltd.
	eaga Renewables Ltd.
	East Coast Gas Services Ltd.
	Fenhams Contracts
	Heating Renewables Ltd.
	Help-Link UK Ltd.
	Interglow Contracts Ltd.
	J and J Crump and Son Ltd.
	Johnson and Starley Total Home Comfort Systems
	Kershaw Contracting Services Ltd.
	KHI Ltd.
	Lion Insulation
	Micron HV Ltd.
	Miller Pattison Ltd.
	Orion Insulation and Construction Services Ltd.
	Perry Electrical Ltd.
	Pro Gas Services (Hull) Ltd.
	R G Francis Ltd.
	Solarwall Ltd.
	Southern Electrical Contracting Ltd.
	Staywarm Installations Ltd.
	Sun Realm Heating Company Ltd.
	West Anglia Insulation Services Ltd.
	Westville Insulations

Warm Front Scheme: Lighting

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many energy efficient light bulbs have been provided under the Warm Front scheme in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year.

Joan Ruddock: The number of households receiving two light bulbs under Warm Front since 2000 is detailed as follows:
	
		
			   Number of households  Total cost () 
			 2000-01 215,238 1,016,999.55 
			 2001-02 475,780 2,248,060.50 
			 2002-03 533,882 2,522,592.45 
			 2003-04 361,672 1,709,155.35 
			 2004-05 411,928 1,946,359.80 
			 2005-06 309,052 1,311,772.10 
			 2006-07 476,532 1,927,580.02 
			 2007-08 510,890 2,068,053.69 
			 2008-09 (to date) 328,566 1,329,049.47